Next major earthquake may split Banni from Kutch, says expert

The earthquake that shook Gujarat on January 26, 2001, caused maximum damage in Kutch district where towns like Bhuj, Anjar and Bhachau were virtually flattened. But what few people know is that if the same quake, which had the power of 400 atom bombs of the size that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were to strike again, it could physically split Kutch asunder.

One such area of the district which could get physically separated from its adjoining landmass is Banni, the greenest region of Kutch.

This is indicated by the research done by RK Singh, senior scientist at Institute of Seismological Research (ISR), Gandhinagar, and his team, to determine the geological changes caused in this quake-prone district by the 2001 temblor. Singh presented a paper on his findings at the international symposium on earthquake sciences that concluded at ISR on January 24.

His study has revealed that the 2001 quake was so powerful that it had created new fault-lines and reoriented several faults that already existed beneath the earth’s surface in Kutch.
“After the 2001 earthquake, many changes occurred at the sub-surface level and it is these changes which are causing aftershocks to this day, 10 years after the quake,” Singh said.

“It has been estimated that the energy released during the 2001 quake was equivalent to about 400 atom bombs of the same power as the weapons that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” 

Singh’s research has revealed that the 2001 quake was so powerful that it created, beneath the earth, a 22-km wide breach between the North Wagad Fault and the South Wagad Fault. The two fault-lines run east-to-west, with the North Wagad Fault passing by Rapar and the South Wagad Fault crossing near Bachau. Banni lies north-west of the North Wagad Fault and is already lifting upwards.

The massive breach created by the quake of 2001 lies between these two fault-lines and it is this breach which, in the eventuality of another powerful quake, may impact Banni and split it from the southern part of Kutch. A study on this issue has also been conducted by international seismologists and both the studies agree on this lurking threat to Banni.

“In fact, the whole of the earth beneath Kutch needs to be studied properly and re-mapped,” Singh said. “The Kharoi-Manfara-Chobari Fault was badly affected by the 2001 Bhuj earthquake. The latest study suggests that the block is rotating because of two parallel forces working in opposite directions. These two forces, which are yet to be named, were activated by 2001 quake.” Singh further said that the quake had also changed the direction of the two Wagad faults.