1897 Assam earthquake

Earthquake in India July 2019 November 2019 1897 Assam earthquake yes 12 June 1897 India w 8.2–8.3 y 34 km 26.0 90.7 inline,title India, Bhutan, Bangladesh 10 1,542http://www.aasc.nic.in/course%20material/Disaster/documentation%20on%20past%20disasters.pdf Documentation on past disasters, their impact, Measures taken, vulnerable areas in Assam. 29 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150711124043/http://aasc.nic.in/course%20material/Disaster/documentation%20on%20past%20disasters.pdf 11 July 2015 dead thumb|265px|Map showing the epicentre and the areas affected by the 1897 earthquakeOldham R. D. Report of the great earthquake of 12th June, 1897 Memoirs of the Geological Society of India 29 K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & co. 1899 https://archive.org/details/memoirsofgeologi29geol An earthquake occurred on 12 June, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC,Subedi Shiba Hetényi György Precise Locating of the Great 1897 Shillong Plateau Earthquake Using Teleseismic and Regional Seismic Phase Data The Seismic Record 2021 1 3 135–144 10.1785/0320210031 2021SeisR...1..135S 244456016 free and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3.England Philip Bilham Roger The Shillong Plateau and the great 1897 Assam earthquake Tectonics 2015 34 9 1792–1812 10.1002/2015TC003902 2015Tecto..34.1792E 92991659 free It resulted in approximately 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructures. Damage from the earthquake extended into Calcutta, where dozens of buildings were severely damaged, with some buildings partially collapsing. Tremors were felt across India, reaching as far as Ahmedabad and Peshawar. Seiches were also observed in Burma. Earthquake The earthquake occurred on the south–southwest-dipping reverse Oldham Fault that forms the northern edge of the Shillong Plateau.Revisiting the 1897 Shillong and 1905 Kangra earthquakes in northern India: Site response, Moho reflections and a triggered earthquake Hough S.E. Susan Hough Bilham R. Ambraseys N. Nicholas Ambraseys Feldl N. 2005 Current Science 88 10 1632–1638 https://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/office/hough/curr-sci-05.pdf 15 February 2019 23 December 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161223113723/http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/office/hough/curr-sci-05.pdf dead There was a minimum displacement on the main fault of 11 m, although some calculations have placed this figure at as high as 16 m; one of the greatest for any measured earthquake.Bilham Roger England Philip Plateau 'pop-up' in the great 1897 Assam earthquake Nature 410 6830 806–809 2001 10.1038/35071057 11298446 2001Natur.410..806B 205015797 The calculated area of slip extended 180 km along the strike and from 9–45 km beneath the surface, indicating that the entire thickness of the crust was involved. Damage thumb|left|Government House in Shillong before and after the earthquake Thought to have happened 32 km beneath the surface, the earthquake left masonry buildings in ruins over 400,000 km2 area and was felt over 650,000 km2 from Burma to Delhi. Numerous buildings in the neighboring country of Bhutan were heavily damaged.The Great Assam Earthquake of 1897 Jugal Kalita Jugal Kalita Assam Portal http://www.assam.org/content/great-assam-earthquake-1897 Dozens of aftershocks were felt in and around the region with the last event being felt on 9 October 1897 at 01:40 UT in Calcutta. The earthquake resulted in Shillong Plateau being thrust violently upwards by about 11 meters. The fault was about 110 km in length while the fault slip was about 18 m (accuracy more or less by 7 m). At the epicenter, vertical acceleration is thought to have been greater than 1g and the surface velocity estimated at 3 m/s. thumb|Earthquake damage to a bridge on the East Bengal Railway In Shillong, the earthquake damaged every stone house and half the houses built of wood.5 The shock leveled the ground and resulted in 13 deaths. Fissures were also reported in the area. In Sohra Cherrapunji, it resulted in a landslide, which led to 600 deaths.http://www.assam.org/content/great-assam-earthquake-1897 The Great Assam Earthquake of 1897 | Assam Portal In Goalpara, it resulted in waves from the Brahmaputra River, on whose bank the town is situated, destroying the market. In Nalbari, there were reported sightings of earth-waves and water waves. In Guwahati, the earthquake lasted for three minutes. The Brahmaputra rose by 7.6  ft. Damage was caused to Umananda Island temple and railway lines, where five people died. In Nagaon, every brick house was damaged, while traditional houses made of wood, with grass roofs, were bent. There were many small fissures/volcanos and the road was impassable for vehicles. In the Sylhet region, shocks took place at 16:30 local time, according to villagers living at the foot of the hills north of Sunamganj. There were 545 casualties; 55 in Sylhet town; 178 in North Sylhet; 287 in Sunamganj; seven in Habiganj; eight in South Sylhet and 10 in Karimganj. Many building collapses, fissures and drownings furthered the number of deaths. A woman in Sunamganj is said to have fallen through a fissure whilst on a river with her husband. The husband tried to hold onto her hair but lost hold of her. The woman's body was not recovered from the crevasse. The Assam Bengal Railway was severely damaged.Assam District Gazetteers: Sylhet 2 1905 Calcutta B C Allen Government of Assam 13–16 Physical Aspects https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463814/page/n21Anderson Francis Philip The effects of the earthquake in 1897 on the Shaistaganj division of the Assam-Bengal Railway Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1900 141 1900 258–261 10.1680/imotp.1900.18693 https://archive.org/details/anderson-1900-minutes-of-proceedings-of-the-institutio-141-1900Report1899 295-298 Richard Dixon Oldham, the Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, analysed seismic records of the earthquake, mainly from stations in Italy, and reported the first clear evidence of different type of seismic waves, travelling through the earth on different paths and at different speeds.Report1899 227-256 The zamindar house of Raja Girish Chandra Roy and the building of the Murarichand College he founded were destroyed.Murari Chand College - Banglapedia https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Murari_Chand_College 2025-12-11 en.banglapedia.org See also 1905 Kangra earthquake List of earthquakes in India List of historical earthquakes References Significant Earthquake Information https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/2513 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database 10.7289/V5TD9V7K 1972 Data Set 2 August 2022 Further reading Ambraseys N. N. Douglas J. 1 October 2004 Magnitude calibration of north Indian earthquakes Geophysical Journal International 159 1 165–206 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02323.x 0956-540X 2004GeoJI.159..165A free Gahalaut V. K. Chander R. A Rupture Model for the Great Earthquake of 1897, Northeast India Tectonophysics 204 1–2 1992 163–174 10.1016/0040-1951(92)90277-D 1992Tectp.204..163G Lee W. H. K. M. Meyers N. Shimazaki Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes of the World Academic Press San Diego 1988 978-0-12-440870-8 External links Tom LaTouche and the Great Assam Earthquake of 12 June 1897: Letters from the Epicenter (with photographs of damage at Shillong, Rowmari and Calcutta, detailed field report with diagrams, and mapping of the epicentre) Letter Published 24 June 1897: An Edinburgh Record of the Indian Earthquake 1897 Assam Category:1897 earthquakes Category:1897 in India 1897 Category:June 1897 in Asia Category:1890s disasters in Asia Category:19th-century disasters in India Category:X Extreme Earthquakes