KANGRA-KULU EPICENTRAL AREA. 13 



Cliambi (winding under cliffs of talus and remade morainic material 

 Road and cliff with alluvium, sometimes as much as 150 — 200 ft. 

 falls - high), the road was broken away at many places 



All, however, were at steep points of the road and the destruction was 

 not more than might have occurred during heavy rains. About | 

 mile up stream the most recent alluvium in the bed of the valley was 

 rent by little fissures running N. by E. — S. by W. Further up stream 

 more and more frequent falls from the gravel banks were found at 

 intervals of every hundred yards or so. 



The hamlets, Dhanotu and Dudharnb, were very badly wrecked, 



Dhanotu Dud- having & worse appearance than Nerti. At Chari we 



hamb, Chan. reached nearly the maximum of effect, the whole 



village being destroyed with the exception of one or two stronger 



buildings {e.g., the school) which were half ruined. Generally speaking 



the houses had become mere heaps of sun-dried bricks mingled 



with slates and rafters. (See plate 3, fig. 1.) Gharoh, which was only 



observed from a distance, appeared not so severely affected as Chari. 



During this journey I noticed the immunity enjoyed by the. little 



water-mills built by the banks of the streams of 



Immunity from 



damage in actual rounded rubble stone and mud mortar. No more 

 unstable structures could be imagined than these 

 low cabins. Their position in the very bottom of the boulder- strewn 

 valleys seems to have had something to do with their preservation 

 from destruction, as also with that of the heavy iron girder bridge 3j 

 miles from Shahpur, built by Burn & Co. of Howrah, which remain- 

 ed undamaged. In other large earthquakes such positions have by no 

 means enjoyed immunity ; although the absence of much alluvium 

 and the presence of loose rounded boulders may have made a difference 

 in this case, the loose boulders serving (just as they do in Japanese 

 foundations) to neutralise the shock. 1 



1 The Pioneer of 26th April states : — •' From Pathankot to Dharmsala there are 

 hundreds of bridges, large and small, and only one was wrecked — within 2 miles of tho 

 Kotwali bazar — some with fine stone arches and others with iron girders all remaining 

 intact," 



