The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake,

occurred on 26 January, India's 52nd Republic Day, at 08:46 am IST and

lasted for over 2 minutes. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest
of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District
of Gujarat, India.[5][6]
The intraplate earthquake reached 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and
had a maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.
The earthquake killed between 13,805 and 20,023 people (including 18 in
southeastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly
400,000 homes.[7][8]

Tectonic setting [edit]

See also: Geology of India
Gujarat lies 300–400 km from the plate boundary between the Indian
Plate and the Eurasian Plate, but the current tectonics are still governed by
the effects of the continuing continental collision along this boundary.
During the break-up of Gondwana in the Jurassic, this area was affected
by rifting with a roughly west–east trend. During the collision with Eurasia
the area has undergone shortening, involving both reactivation of the
original rift faults and development of new low-angle thrust faults. The
related folding has formed a series of ranges, particularly in central Kutch.[9]
The focal mechanism of most earthquakes is consistent with reverse
faulting on reactivated rift faults. The pattern of uplift and subsidence
associated with the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake is consistent with
reactivation of such a fault.
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake was caused by movement on a previously
unknown south-dipping fault, trending parallel to the inferred rift
structures.[10] [11]

Effects [edit]
The death toll in the Kutch region was 12,300. Bhuj, which was situated
only 20 km away from the epicenter, was devastated. Considerable
damage also occurred in Bhachau and Anjar with hundreds of villages
flattened in Taluka of Anjar, Bhuj and Bhachau. Over a million structures
were damaged or destroyed, including many historic buildings and tourist
attractions.[12] The quake destroyed around 40% of homes, eight schools,
two hospitals and 4 km of road in Bhuj, and partly destroyed the city's
historic Swaminarayan temple and historic fort as well Prag Mahal and Aina
Mahal. The Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
inspected more than 250 heritage buildings in Kutch and Saurashtra and
found that about 40% of them are either collapsed or seriously damaged.
Only 10% were undamaged.[13]
In Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital with a population of
approximately 7 million (according to data in 2018), as many as 50 multi-
storey buildings collapsed and several hundred people were killed. Total
property damage was estimated at $7.5 billion. In Kutch, the earthquake
destroyed about 60% of food and water supplies and around 258,000
houses, 90% of the district's housing stock. The biggest setback was the
total demolition of the Bhuj Civil hospital. The Indian military provided
emergency support which was later augmented by the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. A temporary Red
Cross hospital remained in Bhuj to provide care while a replacement
hospital was built.[14]

Reconstruction[edit]
Four months after the earthquake the Gujarat government announced the
Gujarat Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Policy. The policy
proposed a different approach to urban and rural construction with the
estimated cost of rebuilding to be US$1.77 billion.[15]
The main objectives of the policy included repairing, building, and
strengthening houses and public buildings. Other objectives included the
revival of the economy, health support, and reconstruction of the
community and social infrastructure.[15]
Housing[edit]
The housing policies focused on the removal of rubble, setting up
temporary shelters, full reconstruction of damaged houses, and
the retrofitting of undamaged units. The policy established a community-
driven housing recovery process. The communities affected by the
earthquake were given the option for complete or partial relocation to in-
situ reconstruction.[16] The total number of eligible houses to be repaired
was 929,682 and the total number of eligible houses to be reconstructed
was 213,685. By 2003, 882,896 (94%) houses were repaired and 113,271
(53%) were reconstructed.[17]
City planning[edit]
The Environmental Planning Collaborative (EPC) was commissioned to
provide a new city plan for the city of Bhuj.[18] The plan focused on creating
a wider roadway network to provide emergency access to the city. The
EPC used land readjustment (LR) in the form of eight town planning
schemes.[18] This was implemented by deducting land from private lot sizes
to create adequate public land for the widening of roadways.[19] The
remaining land was readjusted and given back to the original owners as
final plots.[18]

Relief[edit]
U.S. Air Force personnel preparing relief supplies on 3 February 2001.
In order to support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the city,
the Government of Gujarat created four assistance packages worth up to
US$1 billion. These packages assisted about 300,000 families. The
government also announced a US$2.5 million package to revive small,
medium, and cottage industries. The World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank also provided loans worth $300 million and $500 million
respectively.[17]
Assistance was offered from many countries and organisations.

International assistance[17]

Country Relief Offered

Australia US$550,000

20,000 tons of rice and a 12-member medical

Bangladesh
team

Belgium US$920,000

Canada US$2 million

China US$602,000

Greece US$270,000 in financial aid relief supplies

Israel 150 member emergency aid mission

Italy US$2.3 million for emergency equipment

Kuwait US$250,000

The Netherlands US$2.5 million through UNICEF

New Zealand US$200,000 grant

13 tons of relief material such as blankets and

Pakistan
food

Syria Medical and other relief supplies

Taiwan US$100,000

United Kingdom £10 million

United States Relief supplies up to US$5 million

UAE, Vietnam, Saudi

Relief material and supplies
Arabia
 Assistance from organisations[17]

Organisations Relief Given

American Red Grant program of US$10,000 with all proceeds

Cross of Central New going to the American Red Cross Indian
Jersey Earthquake Relief Fund

CARE International Relief Materials

Relief materials to rural areas and Mobile Medicare

HelpAge India
Units (MMUs)

Food distribution. shelters, temporary bathing

Oxfam
facilities, and relief materials

The Red Cross and £10 million, 350-bed hospital, water and sanitation
Red Crescent units, telecommunications team, and a British Red
Movement Cross logistics team

World Health
US$1.2 million
Organization

Memorial[edit]

Smritivan
Smritivan, a memorial park and museum dedicated to victims of the
earthquake is being built on top of Bhujia Hill. 13,823 trees, each dedicated
to a victim, were planted in the garden and 108 small water reservoirs were
created on the hill.[3][20]