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The Bhuj-Gujarat earthquake was the largest earthquake to
strike India in over 50 years. The earthquake struck the Kachchh
region, in west-central Gujarat, the westernmost state in
India at about 8:46 AM (local time) on January 26, 2001. The
magnitude 7.7 earthquake was felt throughout the country,
in much of Pakistan, as well as in neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh.
Several buildings collapsed in Ahmedabad (a prominent business
center in the State), about 230 km east of the epicenter.
At least 19,988 people are confirmed killed, more than 166,000
injured, with widespread and extensive damage in Gujarat.
About 42% of the State's population has been affected by the
earthquake.
Exponent sent a three-member team to the earthquake-hit region
that worked in conjuction with a reconnaissance team from
the Earthquake
Engineering Research Institute (EERI), an umbrella organization
composed of earthquake professionals from academic institutions
and private industry from throughout the United States. The
team that visited India overall consisted of about 20 individuals
with various technical backgrounds who visited a variety of
different locations in the affected region. The primary objective
of the visit was to observe and document the impacts of the
earthquake on the local infrastructure and population, as
well as geological and geotechnical phenomena associated with
the event that would provide useful lessons for earthquake
preparedness here in the United States. Read
more about how this and other major earthquakes compare.
The three member Exponent team consisted of:
Dr. Akshay Gupta, a Senior Engineer based in the
Menlo Park
office, a specialist in structural and earthquake engineering.
He focused on industrial facilities, structures, and geological
effects in the affected areas;
Dr. Vijay Saraf, P.E., a Senior Engineer based in
the Menlo Park
office, a specialist in the analysis, design and nondestructive
field evaluation of bridge structures. He focused on damage
to bridges, infrastructure, structures, and geological effects
in the affected areas; and
Dr. Philip Shaller, C.E.G., a Senior Scientist based
in the Irvine office,
who has wide experience in geological and geotechnical site
investigations and earthquake-related slope failures. He focused
on fault rupture and other geologic effects related to the
earthquake.
Drs. Gupta, Saraf, and Shaller are separately and together
in the process of preparing professional papers addressing
specific aspects of their fieldwork in Gujarat.
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