National Information Center on Earthquake Engineering

2011 SIKKIM EARTHQUAKE

Effects on Built Environment &
A Perspective on Growing Seismic Risk

Team members:
Durgesh C. Rai, Goutam Mondal, Vaibhav Singhal,
Neha Parool, Tripti Pradhan

Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

 2011 Sikkim Earthquake

The M6.9 earthquake hit Sikkim on

18th September 2011 with its
epicenter located at 27.72°N,
88.06°E, near India-Nepal border,
about 68 km NW of Gangtok and at
a focal depth of 19.7 km as reported
by USGS. Three aftershocks of
magnitude 5.7, 5.1 and 4.6 were also
felt in Sikkim within 30 minutes of
the earthquake.

The region is known for seismic

activity between the Main
Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the
Main Central Thrust (MCT).

Major towns visited Other major towns

Aftershock reported by USGS Aftershock reported by IMD
Main Central Thrust (MCT) Main Boundary Thrust (MBT)
River/Stream Field trip on road
Field trip using Army Helicopter

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 2011 Sikkim Earthquake…

The team visited several affected

towns in the North and East
Districts of Sikkim, such as
Lachung, Chungthang, Mangan,
Phodong, Gangtok, Dikchu, and
Singtam.

Maximum observed shaking

intensity during this earthquake
was VIII on MSK scale.

About 100 deaths are reported in

India with the maximum of at least
60 in the state of Sikkim and total
loss of property was about Rs. One
lakh crore.
Major towns visited Other major towns
Aftershock reported by USGS Aftershock reported by IMD
River/Stream Field trip on road
Field trip using Army Helicopter

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 Landslide
88°00′ 88°15′ 88°30′ 88°45′ 89°00′

TIBET
28°00′

NEPAL
USGS 27°45′
IMD
SIKKIM

27°30′

Landslides disrupting the road network

Geyzing Gangtok
More than 300 landslides occurred all over
the state and disturbed the road connectivity 27°15′

to major towns like Mangan, Chungthang, Namchi

and Lachung and even NH31A, main route
connecting Sikkim and West Bengal. Darjeeling
27°00′

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 Rockslide

Collapsed temple, Lachung

Devastation in Lachung Huge rockslide that came two days after the
earthquake damaged several housing units in
Lachung.

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 Performance of RC Buildings

Collapse of the building highlights the

structural deficiencies widely present in
RC buildings in the affected region. This
includes lack of earthquake-resistant
design and detailing, faulty construction
practices, poor quality of construction
materials, workmanship, etc.

5-storey building at Lumshey Bastey, Gangtok

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 Performance of RC Buildings…

Pan-caking failure of two stories of a Collapsed building colliding with adjacent

9-storey building at Gangtok building at Gangtok

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 Performance of RC Buildings…

Pan-caking failure of school-cum-residential Severe damage in a 5-storey building at

building at Chungthang Chungthang

A large number of concrete and masonry buildings were severely affected in the town of
Chungthang, highlighting serious deficiencies in the prevailing construction practices.

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 Performance of RC Buildings…

Failure of concrete
block masonry
cladding

State Secretariat building at Tashiling, Gangtok

The building constructed in mid-70’s suffered damage

in the 2006 Sikkim earthquake and underwent repair. Offset to beam
Lack of seismic detailing of RC frame members and
beam-column joints, poor quality of infill material and
concrete were the main causes of its poor performance
in recent and previous earthquakes. Failure at beam-column joint
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 Performance of RC Buildings…

Failure of unsupported wall Pounding between two

adjacent buildings

It is common practice to construct buildings very close to property lines due

to smaller plots in urban areas, and sometimes with no gap at all between the
adjacent buildings leading to damage due to pounding.

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 Construction Practices
Mot common
No confinement problems observed in
affected buildings
are:
No confinement of
reinforcement at beam and
column ends,
Cold joint
90° hook in No shear reinforcement
stirrups (stirrups) in joint regions,
Stirrups of very small
diameter bar and
inadequate tying,
90° hook and insufficient
length of such hooks,
Splicing at member ends
instead of at the middle,
Construction (cold) joint
at top end of the column
Large spacing near beam-column joint,
of stirrup Splicing near beam-column joint Poor quality of concrete.

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 Construction Practices…

Unavailability of raw building materials

and expensive transportation cost lead to
the use of various substandard
construction materials. Use of weaker infill
Timber wall materials and thin walls at upper floors to
increase the floor area, makes the walls
vulnerable to in-plane and out-of-plane
seismic forces.
Brick on edge

Half-brick thick wall

Concrete blocks

In-situ concrete

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 Traditional Construction
Shee-Khim house is one of the
traditional construction
practiced in upper reaches of
Sikkim. It is made of wooden
frame and planks and
supported on wooden posts.
Houses are provided with
random-rubble (R/R)
masonry wall as basement
enclosure.

Shee-Khim houses

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 Traditional Construction…

Another type of traditional housing

practice in Sikkim is Ikra house. Walls are
made up of bamboo panels fitted inside
the wooden frames and plastered with
cement/mud mortar. These are also
supported on wooden posts.

Bamboo splints
woven together
and fitted inside
the wooden
Ikra house frame

Minor damages in bamboo panels

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 Traditional Construction…

Failure of R/R masonry at basement level

Traditional houses performed considerably well in this earthquake due to their

simple configuration and inherent earthquake-resisting features.

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 Monasteries and Temples

Sikkim is dotted with

numerous monasteries of
significant heritage and
cultural values. There are
mainly two types of
monasteries:

Tibetan gompas (monastery)

are palace-like structures and
serve as learning schools for
the monks.

Mani-Lakhangs are only

temples and are normally
Typical monastery temple
monitored by a few monks.

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 Monasteries and Temples…

Construction style
The monasteries are simple one to three-
tiered structure on symmetric plan with
reduced floor area for upper stories. They
were initially built with timber and stone
masonry, while later additions were
constructed in concrete and brick
masonry.

The exterior walls are in stone masonry

mostly random rubble while the floors
and double pitched roof are in timber
construction, using single post beam
system.

The interior timber frames are intricately

carved, while the interior wall surfaces
are diligently painted with life-like
imageries.
Typical monastery temple

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 Monasteries and Temples…

Damage to masonry wall of temple at Lachung Damage to Ringhim Monastery, Mangan

Mostly all monasteries suffered damage to their infills which was R/R masonry in
mud/cement mortar. Part of the structure built in timber escaped with minor to
negligible damage.

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 Monasteries and Temples…

Minor damages as seen from inside

It is a three-tiered monastery shaped like

Chinese Pagoda, built about 200 years
ago during the reign of Thutob Namgyal.
During this earthquake the R/R stone
Enchey Monastery, Gangtok masonry wall at the top floor suffered
some damage around the opening in the
wall.

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 Stupas or Chortens
Kalasa or Vase/Jewel
Stupas or Chortens are mound-like
Cattravali
structure containing Buddhist relics
(typically the remains of Buddha ) Spire as Yasti
and is used as a place of worship.

Anda or Egg
(garbha or
womb)
Layer of five or
more steps Solid block masonry

Square base

Such structure suffered damage mainly

because of weak masonry and also because
they are very old.

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 Bridges

Failure of wing
wall (R/R RC bridge (Andheri Khola) had no damage
masonry) of steel
bridge (Ray
Khola)
No major damage to bridges have been reported.

Failure of abutment of
Pale Khola bridge
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 Summary of Earthquake Effects

 The general pattern of damage to structures, landslides, rockfalls, etc. is consistent with
the shaking associated with the M6.9 event.
 However, many dramatic building collapses and damages to structures, disproportionate
to the observed intensity of shaking were primarily due to faulty construction practices
and poor compliance with seismic codes.
 Many unique and inherently poor construction features such as weak and very slender
partition walls in brick/block masonry or in lightly reinforced/plain concrete,
construction on sloped ground, unstable slopes, weak retaining walls, etc., significantly
add to the seismic vulnerability of structures.
 The traditional houses like Shee-Khim and Ikra performed well as expected as they evenly
distributes the deformation which adds to energy dissipation capacity of the system.
 Monastery temples being old and weak were deficient in strength to resist the seismic
loads and these need effective strengthening measures to safeguard against future
tremors.

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 Implications for Future Action
 Rough terrain, complex topography and remote locations pose serious challenge for
sound and quality construction in hilly areas. Lack of awareness about the seismic
vulnerability of the area have led to haphazard planning of towns and construction on
sites prone to landslides and sinking (ground settlement).
 All stakeholders must be educated about importance of earthquake-resistant
construction and its role in mitigating future risk.
 Good concrete and masonry construction practice and suitable material should be used
for light or strong partition walls.
 New building typologies of proven earthquake performance, such as confined
masonry needs to be introduced for low rise buildings.
 Locally available materials (such as bamboo and other sustainable timber alternatives)
and traditional technologies should be reinstated and integrated with modern
construction practices to have an appropriate design for safe housing.
 Adhoc retrofitting practices of questionable performances do not necessarily make
buildings resistant to future seismic events.
 Relevant BIS codes and guidelines like IITK-GSDMA guidelines for seismic evaluation
and strengthening of building is recommended.

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 Closing Remarks

 The damage to built environment, economic loss and human

casualties caused by Himalayan earthquakes are increasing rather
proportionally with the growth of settlement and population.
 Despite the available knowledge base, the communities in high
seismic regions such as Sikkim and neighbouring states are not
adequately prepared due to lack of implementation of earthquake-
resistant building technology. However, with adherence to seismic
codes and recommended construction practices, it is possible to
mitigate such large-scale disasters.
 NICEE @ IITK has several resources available at its website
www.nicee.org for seismic risk mitigation of built-environment.

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 Acknowledgements

We express our sincere gratitude to various officials of the Sikkim government,

the Indian Army and numerous individuals for their invaluable assistance
which made the field study possible.
Special mention to:
Semla Hope Leezum Namgyal Col. Raghavan
Mr. G.S.Sharma (Secretary, PWD), Col. Joe Sabby
Mr. B.Prasad ( SE, PWD) Col. Manoj Khare
Mr. S K Pradhan (DC, North District) Col. Sanjay Adsar
Mr. B K Lama (SDM, Mangan) Maj. K B Upreti
Mr. Tashi Chophel (SDM, Chungthan) Maj. Rohit
Ms. Raksha Nepal (PWD) Maj. R S Jasrotia
Mr. Sonam (PWD) Maj. Pradeep
Pippon, Lachung Maj. Ankur
Mr. T K Pradhan, Gangtok Capt. Pushkar Chaudhary

The field visit was possible from the financial support from Poonam and
Prabhu Goel foundation at IIT Kanpur for research and outreach activities in
Earthquake Engineering.

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