Assam earthquake in 1950
| Assam earthquake in 1950 | |||
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| Coordinates | 28 ° 36 '0 " N , 96 ° 30' 0" E | ||
| date | 15th August 1950 | ||
| Magnitude | 8.6 M W | ||
| epicenter | Rima | ||
| country | India , People's Republic of China | ||
| dead | 1526 | ||
The Assam earthquake of 1950 or Assam-Tibet earthquake of 1950 , also simply Assam earthquake or Medog earthquake ( Chinese 墨脱 大 地震 / 察隅 地震 after the Tibetan district of Metog Dzong ) occurred on August 15, 1950. It had a magnitude M W of 8.6.
The epicenter was near the town of Rima in a border area claimed by both the People's Republic of China and India . The closest village is Rima in Tibet; however, the earthquake is known as the Assam earthquake. The quake was one of the few instrumentally recorded earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 8.5. Originally the magnitude was given as 8.7, subsequent evaluations corrected the number to 8.6.
Effects
The earthquake caused severe damage in Tibet, as well as in the neighboring Indian state of Assam, and killed 1,526 people. 70 villages were destroyed in the Arbor Hills and there were 156 casualties due to landslides. Some of the sliding masses created dams and dammed tributaries of the Brahmaputra . While such a dam broke in the Dibang Valley without further serious consequences, the Subansiri dam burst eight days after the main quake, claiming 532 victims. The number of victims may have been much higher than reported due to doubts as to whether the victims in Tibet were included in the figure for the number of victims. It was created by sand volcanoes reported fissures and large-scale landslides. In the Mêdog area, the village of Yedong slipped into the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) and was washed away. The quake was still felt in Calcutta , Lhasa , Sichuan and Yunnan, and created seiche in some lakes in England and Norway .
Compared to the previous strong earthquake in Assam in 1897 , the material losses were significantly higher. Together with the movements of the ground, floods caused great damage as the rivers rose and brought in a mixture of sand, mud, trees and other debris.
During overflights, the pilots reported major changes in the terrain, mainly due to landslides . The only eyewitness account available is that of Francis Kingdon-Ward , a botanist who was in Rima at the time of the earthquake. There was little time for detailed observation as he was absorbed in his attempts to leave the area and return to India. Nevertheless, he confirmed violent ground tremors in Rima, loud noises, extensive landslides and rising rivers.
There were numerous aftershocks, many of them with magnitudes above six, which were also registered by distant earthquake stations. The Indian Seismological Service was able to determine from the data received a large geographical distribution of the aftershock activity, which occurred between 90 and 97 ° east longitude . The great earthquake was at the eastern end of the so determined distribution area. One of the western aftershocks, which occurred a few days after the main quake, was more noticeable than this in Assam.
See also
literature
- Historic Earthquakes Assam - Tibet. Retrieved November 12, 2009 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Significant Earthquake: 1950-08-15 India-China. NOAA , accessed March 4, 2010 .
- ↑ Historic Earthquakes Assam - Tibet. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 25, 2009 ; Retrieved November 12, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
