Four tremors within a month remind people of 1950
Four tremors in quick succession have sent alarm bells ringing across Assam and the entire north-eastern region.
The quakes over the past three weeks measured between 4.9 on
the Richter scale and 5.9. The one in 1950 had measured 8.7, one of the highest ever. Newspapers here have been running horror stories, recounting the experiences of the survivors. The earlier quake had left over 500 people dead, not counting the 700 lives that were lost in eastern Tibet. Surya Kanta Sharma, who had researched the subject while at Gauhati University warns of an impending disaster. “The 1950 earthquake too had been preceded by smaller tremors such as the ones felt here over the past few weeks,” says Sharma, retired professor of geography, Gauhati University. “I had, based on my study, predicted about five years ago that a big quake would strike the region before 2010.”
Abhijit Bordoloi, Professor of Geography at the premier Cotton College, though, differs: “The tremors are a result of the Indian and Eurasian plates slowly coming together but this does not mean a big earthquake is about to strike.”
The state government, for its part, is not willing to take chances. “We have put the fire, police, water resources, PWD, health, and the relief and rehabilitation departments on alert,” Bhumidhar Barman, senior minister in the Tarun Gogoi Cabinet, told TSI. “The air force and army too have been alerted.” Illegal encroachments on Guwahati’s roads are also being cleared to make way for fire tenders and rescue vehicles. The army had also been asked to keep Bailey bridges ready, said Barman, who is in charge of the state’s relief and rehabilitation department. Advertisements in local dailies, meanwhile, have advised people on safety measures while the state’s disaster management department has named places in Guwahati and its suburbs where the impact could be the worst.
More than the tremors, though, it is the history of Assam’s quakes that have sparked off widespread fear in the region. The 1950 quake was preceded by the 1897 quake which measured 8.1 on the Richter scale. Minister Barman has vivid memories of 1950: “I was thrown off my bicycle when the first shock struck,” he recalls. Adds a 75-year-old woman from Dibrugarh: “We some how managed to crawl out of our homes. A medical school along with the town’s deputy commissioner’s office disappeared into the Brahmaputra during the quake.” Assam’s 1897 and 1950 quakes are among the most powerful in history. It’s time people dread to recall.
Four tremors in quick succession have sent alarm bells ringing across Assam and the entire north-eastern region.
The quakes over the past three weeks measured between 4.9 on
the Richter scale and 5.9. The one in 1950 had measured 8.7, one of the highest ever. Newspapers here have been running horror stories, recounting the experiences of the survivors. The earlier quake had left over 500 people dead, not counting the 700 lives that were lost in eastern Tibet. Surya Kanta Sharma, who had researched the subject while at Gauhati University warns of an impending disaster. “The 1950 earthquake too had been preceded by smaller tremors such as the ones felt here over the past few weeks,” says Sharma, retired professor of geography, Gauhati University. “I had, based on my study, predicted about five years ago that a big quake would strike the region before 2010.”Abhijit Bordoloi, Professor of Geography at the premier Cotton College, though, differs: “The tremors are a result of the Indian and Eurasian plates slowly coming together but this does not mean a big earthquake is about to strike.”
The state government, for its part, is not willing to take chances. “We have put the fire, police, water resources, PWD, health, and the relief and rehabilitation departments on alert,” Bhumidhar Barman, senior minister in the Tarun Gogoi Cabinet, told TSI. “The air force and army too have been alerted.” Illegal encroachments on Guwahati’s roads are also being cleared to make way for fire tenders and rescue vehicles. The army had also been asked to keep Bailey bridges ready, said Barman, who is in charge of the state’s relief and rehabilitation department. Advertisements in local dailies, meanwhile, have advised people on safety measures while the state’s disaster management department has named places in Guwahati and its suburbs where the impact could be the worst.
More than the tremors, though, it is the history of Assam’s quakes that have sparked off widespread fear in the region. The 1950 quake was preceded by the 1897 quake which measured 8.1 on the Richter scale. Minister Barman has vivid memories of 1950: “I was thrown off my bicycle when the first shock struck,” he recalls. Adds a 75-year-old woman from Dibrugarh: “We some how managed to crawl out of our homes. A medical school along with the town’s deputy commissioner’s office disappeared into the Brahmaputra during the quake.” Assam’s 1897 and 1950 quakes are among the most powerful in history. It’s time people dread to recall.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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