View source for 1934 Nepal India earthquake

{{Short description|January 1934 earthquake in India  and Nepal}}
</noinclude>{{Use Indian English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox earthquake
| title = 1934 Nepal–India earthquake
| timestamp = 1934-01-15 08:43:25
| isc-event = 904745
| anss-url = iscgem904745
| local-date = {{Start date|df=yes|1934|01|15}}
| local-time = 2:13&nbsp;pm [[India Standard Time|IST]]
| map2 = {{Location map+|Nepal
| places =
{{Location map~|Nepal|lat=26.86|long=86.59|mark=Bullseye1.png|marksize=50}}
{{Location map~|Nepal|lat= 27.7|long=85.3|label=Kathmandu|label_size=100|position=left|mark=Green pog.svg}}
 | relief = yes
 | width = 250
 | float = center|border=infobox
 | caption = }}
| magnitude = 8.0 {{M|w|link=y}}<ref name=ISC-GEM/>
| depth = {{convert|15|km|abbr=on}}<ref name=ISC-GEM/>
| location = {{coord|26.86|N|86.59|E|display=inline,title}}<ref name=ISC-GEM/>
| countries affected = [[India]], [[Nepal]]
| intensity = [[Mercalli intensity scale|XI (''Extreme'')]]
| casualties = 10,700–12,000
| aftershocks = 
| foreshocks = 
| landslide = 
| affected = 
| tsunami = 
| pgv = 
| pga = 
| damages = 
| caption = 
| type = 
| fault = [[Main Frontal Thrust|Main Frontal]]-[[Main Himalayan Thrust|Himalayan Thrust]]
| duration = 
| map_caption = 
| map_alt = 
| map = 
| alt = 
| image = 
| name = 
| citations = 
}}

The '''1934 Nepal–India earthquake''' or '''1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake''' was one of the worst [[earthquake]]s in [[India]]'s history. The towns of [[Munger]] and [[Muzaffarpur]] were completely destroyed. This 8.0 [[moment magnitude scale|magnitude]] earthquake occurred on 15 January 1934 at around 2:13&nbsp;pm [[India Standard Time|IST]] (08:43 [[coordinated universal time|UTC]]) and caused widespread damage in northern [[Bihar]] and in [[Nepal]].<ref name=NGDC/>

==Earthquake==
The epicentre for this event was located in eastern Nepal about {{convert|9.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Mount Everest]].<ref name=Gunn2007/> The areas where the most damage to life and property occurred extended from [[Purnea]] in the east to [[Champaran]] in the west (a distance of nearly {{convert|320|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}), and from [[Kathmandu]] in the north to [[Munger]] in the south (a distance of nearly {{convert|465|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}). The impact was reported to be felt in [[Lhasa]] to [[Bombay]], and from [[Assam]] to [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]].  The earthquake was so severe that in [[Kolkata]], around 650&nbsp;km (404&nbsp;mi) from epicenter, many buildings were damaged and the tower of [[St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata|St. Paul's Cathedral]] collapsed.<ref name=Nasu/>

===Ground effects===
One noteworthy phenomenon of this earthquake was that sand and water vents appeared throughout the central vents of the earthquake area. The ground around these sand fissures subsided, causing more damage.<ref name=Nasu/> Extensive [[Soil liquefaction|liquefaction]] of the ground took place over a length of 300&nbsp;km (called the slump belt) during the earthquake, in which many structures went afloat.<ref name=Murty/>

[[File:Gandhi in Bihar after the earthquake.jpg|thumb|250px|Gandhi visits after the earthquake]]

In [[Muzaffarpur]], sand fissures erupted at several places in town. The wells were choked with sand, while water levels in tanks became shallower due to sand deposited in the tank beds. Most of the buildings in Muzzafarpur were damaged. All the kutcha (ramshackle) buildings collapsed, while other pukka (solidly built) buildings suffered damage due to sinking and cracking of the ground.<ref name=Nasu/>

===Damage===
The three major towns of the [[Kathmandu Valley]] in [[Nepal]]—[[Kathmandu]], [[Bhaktapur, Nepal|Bhaktapur]] and [[Patan, Lalitpur|Patan]]—were severely affected and almost all the buildings collapsed. Large cracks appeared in the ground and several roads were damaged in Kathmandu; however, the [[Pashupatinath Temple|temple]] of [[Shree Pashupatinath|Pashupatinath]], the guardian deity of Nepal, escaped any damage.<ref name=Brett1935/>

In [[Sitamarhi]], not a single house was left standing. In Bhagalpur district many buildings collapsed. In [[Patna]], many buildings in the bazaar were destroyed and damage was particularly severe along the river.<ref name=Nasu/> In [[Rajnagar Bihar|Rajnagar]], near [[Madhubani, India|Madhubani]], all the Kutcha buildings collapsed. The buildings of [[Darbhanga Raj]], including the famous [[Navlakha Palace]], were severely damaged.<ref name=Brett1935/> In [[Jharia]] the earthquake led to further spread of underground fire.<ref name=AminLinden1997/> The town of [[Birgunj]] was destroyed, along with its telephone line to Kathmandu.<ref name="adhikari">Dr. Bipin Adhikari. [http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/Bipin-Adhikari-great-earthquake-Nepal The Great Earthquake of 1934] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529074222/http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/Bipin-Adhikari-great-earthquake-Nepal |date=29 May 2015 }}. ''NewSpotLight Nepal News Magazine'', Vol. 8, No. 22, 22 May 2015. Accessed 29 May 2015.</ref>

The number of deaths was 10,700 to 12,000<ref name=Gunn2007/><ref name=USGS/> with 7,253 recorded in Bihar.<ref name=Brett1935/>

A 1935 work by Major General Brahma Shamsher documenting the event, ''Nepalko Maha Bhukampa 1990'', stated that this was Nepal's most destructive earthquake in living memory, and praised the [[Nepalese Army]] for its work in relief efforts.<ref name = "adhikari" /><ref>Rāṇā, Brahmaśamśera Jaṅgabahādūra, and Kesar Lall. The Great Earthquake in Nepal (1934 A.D.). 1st English edition. Kathmandu: [[Ratna Pustak Bhandar]], 2013. {{ISBN|9789937330152}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[Mahatma Gandhi]] visited the Bihar state. He wrote that the Bihar earthquake was [[Divine retribution|providential retribution]] for India's failure to eradicate [[Hindu Untouchables|untouchability]].<ref name=Chakrabarty/> [[Rabindranath Tagore]] took offence to the irrationality in his statement and accused Gandhi of superstition, even though he was totally in agreement with Gandhi on the issue of untouchability.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/the-great-debate-6334226/|title=When Tagore accused Gandhi of superstition}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/724133/suggesting-religious-reasons-for-quakes-isnt-new-mahatma-gandhi-did-that-in-1934|title=Suggesting religious reasons for quakes isn't new: Mahatma Gandhi did that in 1934}}</ref> In Bihar, Sri Babu ([[Krishna Singh (politician)|Shri Krishna Sinha]]) and the other great leader Anugrah Babu ([[Anugrah Narayan Sinha]]), threw themselves into relief work.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ramaswami Venkataraman|author2=India. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Publications Division|title=So may India be great: selected speeches and writings of President R. Venkataraman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=08VGAAAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1833 Bihar–Nepal earthquake]] 
* [[1988 Nepal earthquake]]
* [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake]]
* [[May 2015 Nepal earthquake]]
* [[List of earthquakes in 1934]]
* [[List of earthquakes in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=ISC-GEM>{{citation|title=ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009)|url=http://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php|author=ISC|year=2015|publisher=[[International Seismological Centre]]|series=Version 2.0}}</ref>
<ref name=NGDC>{{cite web |url=http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=3528&t=101650&s=13&d=22,26,13,12&nd=display |title=Significant earthquake |access-date=16 February 2012 |publisher=[[National Geophysical Data Center]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216112019/https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=3528&t=101650&s=13&d=22,26,13,12&nd=display |archive-date=16 December 2017  }}</ref>
<ref name=Nasu>{{cite web |title=The Great Indian Earthquake of 1934 |url=http://repository.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2261/10194/1/ji0132013.pdf |last=Nasu |first=Nobuji |publisher=Earthquake Research Institute |date=20 March 1935 |access-date=30 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506001818/http://repository.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2261/10194/1/ji0132013.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2015  }}</ref>
<ref name=Murty>{{cite web |last=Murty |first=C.V.R. |last2=Malik |first2=Javed N. |title=Challenges of Low-to-Moderate Seismicity in India |url=http://ejse.org/Archives/Fulltext/2008/Special1/200807.pdf |access-date=30 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610055148/http://www.ejse.org/Archives/Fulltext/2008/Special1/200807.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2012  }}</ref>
<ref name=Brett1935>{{cite book|last=Brett|first=William Bailie|title=A Report on the Bihar Earthquake and on the Measures Taken in Consequence Thereof Up to the 31st December 1934|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbjHAAAAIAAJ|year=1935|publisher=Superintendent, Government Print.}} Available at [http://www.southasiaarchive.com/Content/sarf.141577/203678 The South Asia Archive]</ref>
<ref name=AminLinden1997>{{cite book|last1=Amin|first1=Shahid|last2=Linden|first2=Marcel van der|title=Peripheral Labour: Studies in the History of Partial Proletarianization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FClErftju_kC&pg=PA83|year=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-58900-0|page=83}}</ref>
<ref name=Gunn2007>{{cite book |last=Gunn |first=Angus Macleod |title=Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YzF-DT__aIC&pg=PA337 |date=30 December 2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-08747-9 |pages=337–339 |chapter=Bihar, India, earthquake}}</ref>
<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|last1=U.S. Geological Survey |title=Historic Earthquakes – Bihar, India – Nepal |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1934_01_15.php |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |access-date=29 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429014734/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1934_01_15.php |archive-date=29 April 2015 }}</ref>
<ref name=Chakrabarty>{{cite book|title=Social and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi|series=Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4x34We-mY40C&pg=PA101|first=Bidyut|last=Chakrabarty|year=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-36096-8|page=101}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation|title=Source dynamics of two great earthquakes of the Indian subcontinent: The Bihar-Nepal earthquake of January 15, 1934, and the Quetta earthquake of May 30, 1935|url=http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/70/3/757.abstract|first=D. D.|last=Singh|first2=H. K.|last2=Gupta|year=1979|journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America|publisher=[[Seismological Society of America]]|volume=70|number=3|pages=757–773}}

== External links ==
*[http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/HimFatalities.html 1934 Mw 8.1 Bihar/Nepal earthquake 15 January 1934] – [[Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences]]
*[http://asc-india.org/maps/intensity/1934-nepal.htm Intensity Map] ([https://www.webcitation.org/5iRBUdV5O?url=http://asc-india.org/maps/intensity/1934-nepal.htm Archived]) – Amateur Seismic Centre
*{{EQ-isc-link|904745}}

{{Earthquakes in India}}
{{Himalayan earthquakes}}
{{Earthquakes in 1934}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1934 Nepal-India earthquake}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Earthquakes in India, Earthquakes in Nepal, Natural disasters in Bihar, 1934 in Nepal, January 1934 events
|description=
}}

[[Category:Earthquakes in India]]
[[Category:1934 in India|Bihar Earthquake, 1934]]
[[Category:Earthquakes in Nepal]]
[[Category:1934 earthquakes|Bihar Earthquake, 1934]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Bihar]]
[[Category:1934 in Nepal]]
[[Category:January 1934 events]]