Jump to content

2016 Imphal earthquake

Coordinates: 24°50′02″N 93°39′22″E / 24.834°N 93.656°E / 24.834; 93.656
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2016 Imphal earthquake
2016 Imphal earthquake is located in India
2016 Imphal earthquake
UTC time2016-01-03 23:05:22
ISC event612140990
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local date4 January 2016 (2016-01-04)
Local time4:35 a.m IST (UTC+5)
Magnitude6.7 Mw
Depth55.0 km (34.2 mi)
Epicenter24°50′02″N 93°39′22″E / 24.834°N 93.656°E / 24.834; 93.656
Areas affectedBangladesh
India
Myanmar
Nepal
Max. intensityMMI VII (Very strong)
Casualties11 dead[1]
~200 injured

The 2016 Imphal Earthquake occurred on 4 January 2016 at 4:35 a.m. local time (23:05 UTC, 3 January)[2] in Manipur, that had a magnitude of 6.7 Mw.[3] The seismic wave radius travelled over 200km and shaking was felt in numerous cities, including Imphal, Silchar and Guwahati.[2]

Article body

[edit]

Earthquake Details

The Mw6.7 earthquake was likely caused by a strike slip fault in a plate boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plate along the Southern Asian region. The focal mechanism that resulted in the earthquake was the 48mm/yr Indian plate that strikes the Eurasian plate on a northeastern direction.[2] The depth of the epicenter of the earthquake was determined to be 55km by the USGS. A subsequent Mw6.9 earthquake also occurred on 14 April 2016 which was at a 134km focal point and 240km southeast of the Mw6.7 Imphal earthquake.[4] Just like the Imphal earthquake, the later earthquake was caused by a reverse dextral fault. From this it can be deduced that there was an intraplate convergence where a slab subducted beneath another between the Indian and Eurasian plates.[4]

ShakeMap from USGS to show the intensity of the Imphal Earthquake

While the earthquake was a significant event, moderate-to-large earthquakes in this region are fairly common in the past, although this was the largest earthquake to hit the state of Manipur since 1957.[5] 20 earthquakes have occurred within 250 km of the 2016 event in the past 100 years. The largest was a 8.0 magnitude earthquake in 1946, 220 km to the southeast of the 2016 earthquake on the Sagaing Fault. Other significant events less than 200km away from Imphal earthquake include a M 7.3 earthquake in August 1988, which caused several fatalities and dozens of injuries, and another M 6.0 earthquake in December 1984 that caused 20 fatalities and 100 injuries.[2]

Damage

[edit]
Casualties by country
Country Deaths Injuries Ref.
 India 8 200 [1] & [6]
 Bangladesh 5
Total 13 200

Based on USGS data, the shake-map showed moderate shaking intensity around the region of Imphal. 13 people were killed, 8 in India and 5 in Bangladesh.[6] Additionally, 200 others were injured and numerous buildings were damaged.[1] In rural areas many buildings were damaged, walls of houses in areas like Kabuikhullen village appeared to be detached from the main frame, while some foundations shifted by 33cm from its original position.[7] In Imphal city the damage was restricted to buildings on the riverbank, such as the three women's markets, or on other marshy terrain, such as the Central Agricultural University,[8] and additionally a newly built 6 stories high-rise collapsed.[9] The damage in Imphal was mostly attributed to poor, non-earthquake resistant construction.[8]

Response

[edit]

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed in Manipur, to clear off debris and locate possible survivors. Additionally, officers and government departments that were not an essential services were closed. Power supply was also mainly back up on 5 January 2016 4pm, just 36 hours after the earthquake struck.[10]

However, government response efforts were critiqued for the immediate aftermath of the event, with some volunteer responders claiming that government teams were either absent or under-supplied.[1] Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was in contact with local authorities about the earthquake aftermath.[9]

Future Implications

[edit]

The earthquake damage was mainly a result of poorly constructed building design which is reflected on the cracks and breakages of column joints in many of the building structures. This is also reflected in subsequent earthquake in the region such as 6.4 Magnitude Assam earthquake in 2021 and 5.7 magnitude Tripura earthquake in 2017.[11]

The earthquake is also located along the Indo-Burma range (IBR) zone that experiences high seismicity with an estimation of a 5.0 Magnitude earthquake annually.[12] Some examples include the 5.4 magnitude earthquake at Mawlaik, Myanmar in 2024.[13]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Das, Biswajyoti (4 January 2016). "Quake strikes northeast India, Bangladesh; 11 dead, nearly 200 hurt". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "M 6.7-6.9km W of Imphal, India". earthquake.usgs.gov. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  3. ^ Gahalaut, V. K., & Kundu, B. (2016). The 4 January 2016 Manipur earthquake in the Indo-Burmese wedge, an intra-slab event. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 7(5), 1506–1512. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2016.1179686
  4. ^ a b Gahalaut, V. K.; Martin, Stacey S.; Srinagesh, D.; Kapil, S. L.; Suresh, G.; Saikia, Saurav; Kumar, Vikas; Dadhich, Harendra; Patel, Aqeel; Prajapati, Sanjay K.; Shukla, H. P.; Gautam, J. L.; Baidya, P. R.; Mandal, Saroj; Jain, Ashish (12 October 2016). "Seismological, geodetic, macroseismic and historical context of the 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong (Manipur) India earthquake". Tectonophysics. 688: 36–48. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.09.017. ISSN 0040-1951.
  5. ^ "Quake strikes northeast India, Bangladesh; 11 dead, some 200 hurt". news.trust.org. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b Gahalaut, V.K.; Martin, Stacey S.; Srinagesh, D.; Kapil, S.L.; Suresh, G.; Saikia, Saurav; Kumar, Vikas; Dadhich, Harendra; Patel, Aqeel; Prajapati, Sanjay K.; Shukla, H.P.; Gautam, J.L.; Baidya, P.R.; Mandal, Saroj; Jain, Ashish (October 2016). "Seismological, geodetic, macroseismic and historical context of the 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong (Manipur) India earthquake". Tectonophysics. 688: 36–48. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.09.017.
  7. ^ "M6.7 – 29 km W of Imphal, India". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b Gahalaut, V. K.; Martin, Stacey S.; Srinagesh, D.; Kapil, S. L.; Suresh, G.; Saikia, Saurav; Kumar, Vikas; Dadhich, Harendra; Patel, Aqeel; Prajapati, Sanjay K.; Shukla, H. P.; Gautam, J. L.; Baidya, P. R.; Mandal, Saroj; Jain, Ashish (12 October 2016). "Seismological, geodetic, macroseismic and historical context of the 2016 Mw 6.7 Tamenglong (Manipur) India earthquake". Tectonophysics. 688: 36–48. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.09.017. ISSN 0040-1951.
  9. ^ a b "Earthquake hits India's Manipur state". BBC News. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Massive rescue and relief operations mounted in earthquake-hit Manipur". The Economic Times. 5 January 2016. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  11. ^ Halder, Lipika; Chandra Dutta, Sekhar; Sharma, Richi Prasad; Bhattacharya, Subhamoy (December 2021). "Lessons learnt from post-earthquake damage study of Northeast India and Nepal during last ten years: 2021 Assam earthquake, 2020 Mizoram earthquake, 2017 Ambasa earthquake, 2016 Manipur earthquake, 2015 Nepal earthquake, and 2011 Sikkim earthquake". Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering. 151: 106990. doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.106990.
  12. ^ Sharma, Vickey; Biswas, Rajib (December 2022). "Probabilistic earthquake hazard parameterization for Indo-Burma region using extreme value approach". Natural Hazards Research. 2 (4): 279–286. doi:10.1016/j.nhres.2022.11.001.
  13. ^ "M 5.4 - 29 km ESE of Mawlaik, Myanmar". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2016_Imphal_earthquake&oldid=1258697827"