Natural disasters of the Asia Pacific Region: 2001 Indian Gujarat Earthquake

The death toll in the Gujarat earthquake eventually rose to 25,000. A million people were left homeless.

The terrible impact of the earthquake is likely to have been made worse by its relatively shallow depth, 24 km. The seismic waves from deeper earthquakes lose much of their energy by the time they reach the surface.

Ten years on from the huge earthquake that razed swathes of India's western state of Gujarat, the BBC finds the place transformed from a pile of rubble in a neglected backwater into an economic powerhouse. How?

Emergency relief is already being provided by Caritas India and other Caritas agencies with India based operations. Camps are spontaneously establishing themselves near ruined towns and villages. These camps are being provided with plastic sheets, water cans, blankets, tents and mats. Food aid is also being distributed.

"Entire towns, villages and even families are gone. Almost everything is needed - basic humanitarian needs such as temporary shelter, warm clothing, food, drinking water and medical aid."

"As apparent as the physical needs is the psycho-social trauma in the faces and voices of the survivors," Edwards says.

Based on available information and a holistic approach, interventions have been identified in the following sectors: Coordination, Health, Water and Sanitation, Education and Child Protection, Food and Nutrition, Shelter and Survival, Livelihoods, Logistics.