The 1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in the Kangra Valley and the Kangra district of the Himachal Pradesh, in India on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the surface-wave magnitude scale and killed more than 20,000 people. Apart from this, most buildings in the towns of Kangra, Mcleodganj and Dharamshala were destroyed. The earthquake also had a widespread impact in Jammu and Kashmir particularly in the densely populated Kashmir valley. A total of 7,000 to 8,000 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir with 4,000 to 5,000 deaths occurring in the Kashmir valley. Widespread structural damage was reported across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand.[1][2][3]
Background
The calculated epicenter of the earthquake lies within the zone of thrusts along the front of the Himalayas formed by the continuing collision of the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate.[4] Underthrusting of the Indian subcontinent beneath Tibet along a 2,500 km long convergent boundary known as the Main Himalayan Thrust has resulted in the uplifting of the overriding Eurasian plate, thus creating the long mountain range parallel to the convergent zone.[5]
Earthquake characteristics
The magnitude 7.8–7.9 earthquake struck the western Himalaya in the state of Himachal Pradesh at an estimated depth of 6 km along a very shallow dipping thrust fault, likely on the Main Himalayan Thrust detachment. The rupture area is calculated at 280 km × 80 km.[6] The rupture did not reach the surface, therefore, is considered a blind thrust earthquake.[6] A more recent study in 2005 estimated the rupture zone at 110 km × 55 km while still not breaking the surface.[7]
Damage
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The earthquake reached its peak Rossi–Forel intensity of X in Kangra. About 150 km away from this zone to the southeast, an area of increased intensity reaching VIII was recorded. This unusually high intensity away from the earthquake in the Indo-Gangetic Plain included the cities Dehradun and Saharanpur. It was felt VII in towns like Kasauli, Bilaspur, Chamba, and Lahore.[8] The Ramgarhia Bunga in Amritsar suffered damages, especially to the top domes of its two burj watchtowers.[9][10]
As many as 100,000 buildings were reported to have been demolished by the earthquake. At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed and 53,000 domestic animals were also lost. There was also major damage to the network of hillside aqueducts that fed water to the affected area. The total cost of recovering from the effects of the earthquake was calculated at 2.9 million (1905) rupees.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ Dharamsala Earthquake 1905 – Images
- ↑ History Template:Webarchive Kangra district Official website.
- ↑ Earthquakes The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 1, p. 98.
- ↑ Geodetic Study of the Kangra Earthquake 1905.
- ↑ India plate angular velocity and contemporary deformation rates from continuous GPS measurements from 1996 to 2015. Scientific Reports({Template:Date).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Minimum norm inversion of observed ground elevation changes for slips on the causative fault during the 1905 Kangra earthquake. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences – Earth and Planetary Sciences({Template:Date).
- ↑ Future Mw 8 earthquake in Himalaya: Implication for the 26 December, 2004 M = 9 earthquake on eastern margin. Geological Survey India({Template:Date).
- ↑ Significant Earthquake Information INDIA: KANGRA. NGDC NCEI. NCEI. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ In photos: Echoes of valour & faith resound at grand Sikh structure Ramgarhia Bunga. The Tribune(7 June 2025). Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ↑ THEN TOP LOST IN 1905, MORE DAMAGE IN '84. Hindustan Times (Bathinda)(6 June 2014). Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ↑ A note on the Kangra Ms = 7.8 earthquake of 4 April 1905. Current Science({Template:Year).
Further reading
- The Kangra Earthquake of 4th April, 1905{{#if:Middlemiss|, Middlemiss}. Geological survey of India(1910)
- Magnitude calibration of north Indian earthquakes. Geophysical Journal International({Template:Date).
- [{{{url}}} Revisiting the 1897 Shillong and 1905 Kangra earthquakes in northern India: Site response, Moho reflections and a triggered earthquake].
- Srivastava, H. N., Mithila Verma, and B. K. Bansal. "Seismological Constraints for the 1905 Kangra Earthquake and Associated Hazard in Northwest India." Current Science 99, no. 11 (2010): 1549–559. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24069452.
External links
Template:Earthquakes in 1905 Template:Earthquakes in India Template:Himalayan earthquakes