June 12, 1897 Earthquake: Assam, Bangladesh, India

Among the great earthquakes of the world, the Assam earthquake [June 12, 1897] holds, and must always hold, a very prominent place. Though it occurred in an unstable region, in one of the most unstable provinces of India, no earlier Assam earthquake has possessed a disturbed area of more than a few hundred thousand sq. miles.

The earthquake occurred at about 5.15 pm., local time, and, as most persons were then out of doors, the death-roll for so great an earthquake was comparatively small. The total number of persons killed was only 1,542, about 600 of these by landslips at and near Cherrapunji, 117 at Cheyla, and 17 in the coal-mines of Cherrapunji.

The damage to property must have been very great, for, within an area of 30,000 sq. miles, all brick and stone buildings were practically destroyed, and in this area were to be found all the principal towns of the province-shillong, Sylhet, Gauhati, Goalpara, Dhubri and Turaf.

A great part of the area in which the earthquake was felt is a wild thinly populated country. Brick and stone buildings are rare and widely scattered. Thus, a detailed scale, such as the Rossi-Fore1 scale, was useless, and the following simple scale was devised by Mr. Oldham for the purpose:

The destruction of brick and stone buildings was practically universal.

The damage to masonry or brick buildings was universal, often serious, amounting in some cases to destruction.

All or nearly all brick buildings were damaged.

The earthquake was universally felt, severely enough to disturb furniture and loose objects, but not to cause damage, except in a few instances, to brick buildings. The shock was strong enough to be generally noticed, but not to cause any damage. The earthquake was only noticed by a small proportion of people who were sitting or lying down or were otherwise favorably placed for observing it.

Roughly, these degrees may be taken to correspond with the following degrees of the Rossi-Forel scale: 1O, 9, 8, 7-6, 5-4 and 3-2.

The number of after-shocks was very great, and they originated in many different centres scattered over a very wide area.

(above from reference #516)

Reference #1003 lists earthquake on June 12, 1897, 11:06 UTC, 26 N, 91 E, magnitude 8.7.

Reference #1002 lists earthquake on June 12, 1897, in Khasi Hills, Assam, magnitude 8.7, 1,500 killed.

Reference #1055 lists earthquake on June 12, 1897, 11:05 UTC, in Assam, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts.

Reference #1095 lists earthquake on June 12, 1897 in Assam. Probably the greatest earthquake that has occurred anywhere during historic times. Felt over an area of 1,750,000 sq. miles, with the epicenter in the Shillong plateau. Destruction of stone buildings almost universal in Shillong, Goalpara, Gauhati, Nowgong and Sylhet. Calcutta seriously effected. About 1600 lives lost. Followed by a great train of aftershocks which continued for 10 years.

June 12, 1897, 25.9 N, 91.8 E, magnitude 8.7. (reference #1276)

June 12, 1897. The total number of people killed as a result of the earthquake amounts to 1542 with the following distribution by district: 916 in the Khasi and Jainta Hills, 545 in Sylhet, 29 Kampur, 27 in the Garo Hills, 12 in Darrang, 5 in Goalpara, 3 in Nowgong, 3 in Si1char, and 2 in Sibsagar. We found no reports of loss of life among members of the various Christian missionary stations in Assam and in the Sylhet Plains. (reference #9408)

Following the earthquake a great tidal wave swept up the Brahmapootra River, reaching to as far as Goalpara, over 250 miles from the sea. (reference #8735)

Reference #12584 and 11454 lists earthquake on June 12, 1897, 26 N, 91 E, magnitude 8.7, 1626 killed.