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Nature Of Earthquake And Damages Done By It
By KTM Metro Reporter
September 21, 2011: the landslide caused by the earthquake on Sunday has buried the workers' quarters at a 1,200 MW hydroelectric plant under construction at the Teesta causing the death of at least 12 workers and 40 other missing.
Indian army helicopters scrambled to reach the area despite the unfavorable weather conditions while others used heavy machinery to clear the landslides obstructing roads.
“There is nothing surprising in this earthquake as the region north of Sikkim, which forms the outliers of Tibetan tectonics, is known for moderate earthquakes in the past,” CP Rajendran at the Indian Institute of Science said. But what makes it different is its ‘unusually greater magnitude’.
Speaking at the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad, Vineet Gahaulat said: “The earthquake highlights the presence of the role of transverse features in the Himalayas. This 6.9 magnitude earthquake possibly occurred on a northwest-southeast trending almost vertical fault through strike slip motion. This is what we generally do not expect in the Himalayas,” Gahaulat said. “We expect large magnitude earthquakes on the detachment having thrust motion on gently dipping planes — like the 1999 Chamoli and 1991 Uttarkashi earthquakes.” Gahaulat said, “the role of transverse features in segmenting the Himalayan arc and accommodating some of the convergence of the India-Eurasia plates have been talked about earlier. But this one makes it clearer as this is possibly the largest magnitude earthquake of this type in the Himalayas.”
Shambu Gurung a steward at the Tamarind Hotel in Mangan, northern Sikkim said he had just sung lyrics from a Nepali folk song when the walls of his room began to shake violently.
Mr Gurung said, "I reached for the door but it was shaking so badly that I thought it would come down and bury me. In those moments I felt darkness inside me. I could not move even if I wanted to."
Yesterday, rescue workers have been still struggling to reach remote villages in Sikkim. A single road leading to Gangtok, capital of Sikkin have been obstructed by the landslides and mudslides caused by the earthquake at several areas. The earthquake of the magnitude 6.9 is unique in this area.
