This was a rare intraplate earthquake in the center of the sub-Indian continent on the Deccan Plateau which rises to around 600 meters altitude in this location. There is no historic record of earthquakes in the area and it is possible that this event may have been induced by the nearby Lower Tirna Reservoir, although the depth of its waters is on the lower bound of water depths of reservoirs where induced seismicity has been documented.
"Latur-Killlari India 1993." Global Earthquake Model. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. <http://gemecd.org/event/20>.
"Self organization in disaster response and recovery: The Maharashtra, India Earthquake of September." Web. 24 Mar. 2014. <http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=fmhi_pub>.
"30th September, 1993: 20,000 are killed in an earthquake in Latur, Maharashtra." Maps of India. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. <http://www.mapsofindia.com/on-this-day/30th-september-1993-20000-are-killed-in-an-earthquake-in-latur-maharashtra>.
Recovery
The Latur 1993 Earthquake
caused a lot of lives to be left in
shambles, but it was bittersweet because the prior-to-earthquake third world conditions cause rebuilding to improve the quality of people's lives.
After the the earthquake, these measures were taken:
- job training was started in disaster management
- additional occupational training for those who lost their jobs in quake
- rebuilding of schools
- earthquake proof engineering techniques were incorporated
- For the first time for many people, they had houses with santitation facilities, running water, and electricity.
This earthquake is the largest ever known in this area. This is because there isn't any earthquakes ever recordered in this area!
Epicenter near Killari, Dist. Latur (population 16,000).
Economic Effect
The life in the affected villages was paralysed from the the damage inflicted and livlihoods ruined.
The Latur 1993 Earthquake caused $300,000,000 in damage to buildings and environments.
On September 30th, 1993, the 6.4 (Richter) earthquake occurred. Only to be followed by three aftershocks on the same day.
Then & Now
20 Years Ago
Latur India 1993 Earthquake
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Latur India 1993
Specifics
Name: 1993 Latur
Where? (18.4000° N, 76.5800° E) Latur, Maharashtra, India
When? 3:56 AM, September 30th, 1993.
Magnitude? 6.4 (Richter scale)
Effects on People and Cows
In the earthquake of 1993, 10,000 people were killed. 30,000 injuries were reported as a result. 2,100 cows died, and 13,044 cattle were reported juried as an effect of the earthquake.
Intraplate Earthquakes
Many cities live with the seismic risk of a rare, large intraplate earthquake. The cause of these earthquakes is often uncertain. In many cases, the causative fault is buried deeply , and sometimes cannot even be found. Under these circumstances it is difficult to calculate the exact seismic hazard for a given city, especially if there hasn't ever been an earthquake there before. Some progress is being made in understanding the operation of these buried faults, yet the we still do not fully understand these. In summary, when energy builds up along faults, sometimes, the energy in released in the center of a plate if the rock is weak enough instead of right there at the fault.