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PHOTO ESSAY: Aftermath of Sikkim earthquake

by ActionAid | ActionAid
Friday, 30 September 2011 14:28 GMT

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A massive earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale jolted Sikkim in India at 6.10 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2011. With its epicentre in the north of the Himalayan state, it left a trail of destruction, killing close to 100 people and wiping out 100,000 crore rupees worth of infrastructure. Over 90 percent of homes have been damaged in the northern area, and about 10 percent destroyed completely. ActionAid India’s assessment team, one of the first to reach the worst-affected parts, captured these images, revealing the massive damage to homes and infrastructure. While relief support for immediate needs is underway, the larger question of rebuilding Sikkim remains. The destruction has also raised questions about the massive construction spree and numerous dam projects in the state in the recent years, despite it being an active seismic zone.   Houses were uprooted from their foundations because of the quake. This one was seen near Meyong. Rampant commercialisation and weak observance of building norms have led to a mushrooming of unsafe structures. This five-storey building in Chungthang is now dangerous and will have to be taken down.  A group of local people at a church on the way to Mangan. The quake was followed by landslides and rains which further cut off communication to the affected areas. The team came across many collapsed homes, with families attempting to salvage whatever they could, braving the fear of aftershocks.  The main road from Mangan to Chungthang, a lifeline to the state which came into being over three decades back, was blocked for over a week with debris from landslides, delaying response.  For several nights after the quake, families stayed in camps at Chnungthang due to fear of their homes collapsing. But eventually those homes will have to rebuilt and made safe. That aspect of rehabilitation is not yet under serious discussion. People in the town of Dikchu took shelter in makeshift camps, shop verandas by the roadside and under puja pandals. The town is located between two hydropower projects. Buildings had already been weakened by continuous blasts from their construction. The change in the course of river due to the barrage has also put pressure on the bank by which the town is situated. Massive cracks developed during the Sept. 18 quake between the road and the buildings on the side of the river, which now look like they could collapse at any moment. Chungthang was impossible to access via road soon after the quake. But the 26 km-long tunnel dug through the mountains to divert the river Teesta to the power projects once they are completed served as an approach road.

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