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It was a quiet Wednesday evening on 21st May 2014, when Odisha, usually more familiar with cyclones than seismic jolts, was rudely rattled by one of the strongest earthquakes felt in the state in recent memory.
While the ground quivered for just under a minute, the psychological and infrastructural ripples lasted much longer. From Bhubaneswar to Berhampur, the tremors forced thousands to rush out of homes and hospitals. It gave people memories of a state unused to such tectonic drama.
The Quake That Rocked the Bay
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck at 9:52 PM IST, with its epicentre located in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 310 km southeast of Bhubaneswar. Official data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) pegged the quake's depth at around 10 km, a shallow depth, which explains why it was felt so strongly across Odisha.
The tremors affected parts of eastern India, including West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, but Odisha was at the heart of the shaking.
Panic in the Capital, Cracks in the Walls
The immediate scenes in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Ganjam resembled disaster drills gone real. In the state capital, several people were admitted to hospitals with panic-induced injuries, many hurt while scrambling down staircases or leaping from first-floor balconies.
No fatalities occurred, but the psychological shock was immense. Local temples and heritage structures, particularly in Puri and Konark, were swiftly inspected but reported no damage.
Comparing the Unusual with the Forgotten
While earthquakes in Odisha are rare, they’re not unheard of. The state last experienced significant tremors in 1967, when a 5.5 magnitude quake originating in the Bihar plateau was mildly felt in northern districts. More recently, low-intensity tremors in 2005 and 2009 passed largely unnoticed, with magnitudes below 4.5.
The 2014 quake, however, was a game-changer as it was the strongest in at least five decades and the first to trigger statewide emergency responses. Unlike its predecessors, it tested the readiness of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) in a domain it had not yet fully faced: earthquake response.
Lessons and Legacy
The aftermath of the 2014 quake saw Odisha revisiting its urban construction policies, particularly in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Buildings erected without seismic compliance were flagged, and by 2015, the Odisha Urban Housing Mission mandated revised norms for new constructions.
Schools conducted earthquake drills, hospitals reviewed evacuation protocols, and seismologists from IIT Kharagpur were roped in to map potential micro-zones of seismic vulnerability within the state. The tremors also had a sobering effect on public awareness. Odisha, known for its cyclonic resilience post-1999, now had to accept its vulnerability to earthquakes, however infrequent.
A Decade Later, A Reminder
As Odisha quietly marks 11 years since that unusual night, the memory of the quake still lingers in conversations among those who felt it. Though the state has not seen another quake of that magnitude since, the lessons learned remain embedded in its risk reduction plans.
