﻿*84 
  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  Kuch 
  Bihar 
  Railway.— 
  Turning 
  now 
  to 
  the 
  railway 
  from 
  Parbatipur 
  to 
  Kirch 
  

  

  OL 
  Bihar, 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  the 
  earthquake 
  are 
  everywhere 
  

  

  Shampur. 
  ... 
  . 
  _,, 
  , 
  ^ 
  , 
  . 
  , 
  £ 
  

  

  striking. 
  At 
  Shampur, 
  the 
  ground 
  is 
  much 
  fissured 
  

  

  and 
  the 
  station 
  platform 
  has 
  sunk, 
  while 
  alorg 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  railway 
  the 
  stone 
  posts 
  

  

  used 
  in 
  wire 
  fencing 
  have 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  been 
  snapped 
  off 
  at 
  various 
  heights 
  above 
  

  

  the 
  ground 
  : 
  some 
  almost 
  at 
  the 
  ground, 
  but 
  the 
  majority 
  have 
  been 
  broken 
  off 
  

  

  within 
  a 
  foot 
  or 
  so 
  of 
  their 
  summit. 
  

  

  These 
  posts 
  are 
  made 
  of 
  sandstone 
  and 
  are 
  usually 
  about 
  3 
  feet 
  high, 
  4 
  to 
  6 
  

   inches 
  wide 
  and 
  2 
  inches 
  thick 
  : 
  the 
  wire 
  passes 
  through 
  holes 
  in 
  the 
  stone. 
  As 
  a 
  

   rule, 
  the 
  posts 
  have 
  not 
  broken 
  at 
  the 
  holes. 
  The 
  fracture 
  is 
  probably 
  due 
  to 
  jerks 
  

   and 
  pulls 
  of 
  the 
  wires 
  as 
  the 
  waves 
  passed, 
  for 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  impossible 
  for 
  such 
  

   short 
  and 
  substantial 
  posts 
  to 
  have 
  vibrated 
  sufficiently 
  to 
  produce 
  fracture. 
  1 
  

  

  Near 
  Shampur 
  also, 
  the 
  hexagonal 
  brick 
  piers 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  bridges 
  have 
  been 
  

   broken 
  through 
  horizontally, 
  and 
  the 
  upper 
  portion 
  has 
  shifted 
  slightly 
  ; 
  this 
  

   form 
  of 
  fracture 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  rather 
  common, 
  and 
  though 
  at 
  first 
  supposed 
  

   to 
  be 
  of 
  no 
  great 
  moment, 
  was 
  subsequently 
  found 
  to 
  render 
  the 
  bridges 
  unsafe 
  

   for 
  either 
  rapid 
  or 
  heavy 
  traffic. 
  

  

  Of 
  all 
  the 
  places 
  visited 
  by 
  me, 
  Rangpur 
  was 
  undoubtedly 
  that 
  which 
  had 
  

   R 
  suffered 
  the 
  most 
  damage. 
  The 
  railway 
  station 
  was 
  not 
  

  

  very 
  seriously 
  injured, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  town 
  itself, 
  which 
  is 
  

   situated 
  some 
  3 
  miles 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  railway 
  station, 
  almost 
  every 
  brick 
  building 
  was 
  

   irretrievably 
  damaged, 
  while 
  several 
  were 
  almost 
  completely 
  overthrown. 
  A 
  few, 
  

   however, 
  escaped 
  with 
  only 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  story, 
  the 
  lower 
  portion 
  being 
  

   badly 
  cracked, 
  but 
  possible 
  to 
  repair. 
  

  

  The 
  damage 
  was 
  not 
  due 
  so 
  much 
  to 
  the 
  actual 
  shock 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  secondary 
  

   effects 
  of 
  the 
  earthquake 
  : 
  for 
  the 
  whole 
  town 
  being 
  built 
  on 
  a 
  loose 
  and 
  porous 
  

   sand, 
  overlying, 
  at 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  feet, 
  a 
  substratum 
  of 
  waterlogged 
  sand, 
  

   the 
  surface 
  is 
  everywhere 
  cut 
  up 
  by 
  fissures, 
  which 
  run 
  parallel 
  to 
  main 
  lines 
  of 
  

   weakness 
  such 
  as 
  canals, 
  sides 
  of 
  tanks, 
  etc. 
  These 
  fissures 
  have 
  frequently 
  

   opened 
  under 
  houses, 
  in 
  which 
  case 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  differential 
  subsidence 
  and 
  

   consequent 
  rupture 
  of 
  the 
  walls. 
  The 
  directions 
  of 
  the 
  fissures 
  are 
  chiefly 
  from 
  

   E 
  4 
  — 
  io° 
  S 
  to 
  W 
  4 
  — 
  io° 
  N 
  and 
  N 
  4 
  — 
  io° 
  E 
  to 
  S 
  4 
  — 
  io° 
  W 
  though 
  some 
  run 
  in 
  

   other 
  directions. 
  The 
  first 
  direction, 
  however, 
  is 
  the 
  more 
  noticeable 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  roughly 
  parallel 
  to 
  the 
  canal, 
  which 
  runs 
  through 
  the 
  town, 
  and 
  

   is, 
  of 
  course, 
  a 
  line 
  of 
  weakness. 
  

  

  Near 
  all 
  tanks 
  the 
  fissures 
  run 
  parallel 
  to 
  the 
  banks, 
  and 
  consequently 
  intersect 
  

   at 
  right 
  angles, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  owing 
  to 
  their 
  proximity 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  tank 
  that 
  the 
  

   most 
  important 
  buildings 
  have 
  suffered 
  so 
  severely 
  : 
  in 
  fact, 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  stand 
  

   between 
  a 
  large 
  tank 
  and 
  the 
  canal, 
  and 
  are 
  completely 
  undermined 
  by 
  a 
  network 
  

   of 
  fissures, 
  resulting 
  in 
  a 
  differential 
  movement 
  of 
  adjacent 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  buildings 
  

   and 
  consequent 
  destruction. 
  This 
  effect 
  is 
  well 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  Judge's 
  house 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  courts. 
  (PI. 
  XXV, 
  fig. 
  1.) 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  these 
  two 
  buildings 
  the 
  

   chief 
  destruction 
  has 
  been 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  fissure, 
  which 
  has 
  also 
  undermined 
  

  

  1 
  On 
  comparison 
  with 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  earthquake 
  in 
  the 
  epicentra! 
  tract 
  of 
  the 
  Khasi 
  and 
  

   Garo 
  Hills 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  that 
  the 
  explanation, 
  here 
  rejected, 
  might 
  be 
  accepted.— 
  R.D.O. 
  

  

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