Earthquake?

• Introduction to earthquakes

Gujarat?

• Gujarat is a state on the west coast of the sub-continent of India
• Natural resources of salt & sea ports
• Cities of Bhuj, Bachchau, Anjar, Kutch & Rapar

Gujarat earthquake?

• On 2^nd Feb 2001, one of the strongest earthquakes hit Gujarat, India's poorest state
• US Geological Survey it hit 7.9 on the Richter scale
• N.B. an earthquake of 8 has 10 times the energy of one of 7 on Richter & magnitude of above 6~7 causes widespread devastation

How far off did the earthquake spread?

• It was felt as far off as Nepal & Bangladesh, >700 km away

What's special of this earthquake?

• The magnitude is very high (7.9)
• Its epicenter is very shallow, at about 10 km below ground surface, indicating the tremors would much higher that another of deeper epicenter like the Seattle earthquake (6.9)
• The dead could total 50,000 & the wounded into hundreds of thousands
• In 10 years, reconstruction would erase the physical devastation from public memory
• But private memories could take very much longer for consolation
• The earthquake shakes our fundamental belief that the ground beneath us is solid

What happened during the earthquake?

• The 45-second duration of this earthquake & countless aftershocks (smaller quakes) of 3.5~4.5 magnitude constantly terrifies people
• A vice-principal saw a brick wall fall on her students
• A construction worker spent half a day shouting encouragement to a woman trapped in debris in vain & her words to him were: "Be good to your family"
• A man dragged two of his children out of their home. He was later trapped with his third child but survived. The two outdoors were crushed by a collapsing wall
• It took 45s a stable & built-up region to be reduced to a state of total devastation (imagine the emotional turmoil)
• Many families remain in a state of suspended mourning, uncertain about the fate of missing relatives
• Many bear the telltale signs of a nervous breakdown in progress, the stuttering, the facial tics
• Others in deep denial - "My properties are still buried there, I can still retrieve it when the bulldozers come"; "most people don't see a 'crazy doctor' "; "A woman clings to a idol of a goddess"
• Survivors huddled in the cold forming informal support
• Some turned beggars, refusing to leave for camps, preferring to stay by their demolished homes to be eligible to claim for financial aid

What's devastating about earthquakes?

• It kills:
• by collapsing poorly-constructed buildings & slums
• electrocuting by snapping cables
• explosions by breaking gas & oil pipelines
• by suicides of wounded & suffers who lost their loved ones &/or properties
• torments the alive through nightmares & memories

What are the effects on different people?

• Most people - mainly slum dwellers - are in good spirits: their homes are not worth much, & reconstruction would ensure plentiful jobs
• Some people - rich & middle-class folks - are worried, their properties damaged, family lost, past efforts have been in vain & rebuilding may take years if not decades
• Malati,"When God takes with one hand, he gives with the other."

What help is offered?

• Non-governmental organisations (NGO) have arrived to set up food, water, shelter, medical care & information facilities
• Donations of money, water and charity have poured in from other states
• Rehabilitation & reconstruction schemes are being launched
• There is even more water since the earthquake than I the previous two years - a geological result due to the earthquake

What are the implications for the all of us?

• The earthquake is a natural phenomenon, always be prepared
• Mindsets in whatever form must not exist, habits whether good or bad must be rid off
• Vigilant & alert in the faces of mortal uncertainties & risks
• Perceive the devastation within opportunities & opportunities within devastation
• A life preserved now would create a new world in the near future
• The world events are cyclic - destroy-rebuild-destroy like business economic cycles: the highs & lows of waves & clouds
• In lows, we maintain & persevere
• In highs, we expand, exploit & reflect
• In effect, we seek leveling with undulations