2: JamNagar
JamNagar is about 100 km south of the causative fault, and the general level of damage in the town appeared to be around VII MSK. The earthquake was strongly felt and earthquake induced damage was relatively easy to find, but there was no severe disruption to the life of the city and few examples of collapses.
The most important historical building is the Dabargadh (Maharajah's palace), which occupies a large site in the old town, and consists of a number of buildings, many with very fine architectural features and detailing (figures 1 & 2).
Figure 1: Dabargadh, JamNagar - Darbar Hall
Figure 2 - Dabargadh, JamNagar- carving detail
The buildings are thought to have been built over successive periods but the existing structures belong mainly to the seventeenth century. The site has been uninhabited for about 30 years and is in an advanced state of decay. Some portions had already collapsed before the January 2001 earthquake, which merely accelerated the process. The urgent need for the building is a general programme of restoration for the entire site.
An interesting feature was a reinforced concrete façade probably built around the beginning of the twentieth century to support the masonry building behind it (figure 3). Although the reinforcement was severely corroded, the overall structure was holding well and there was no sign of earthquake induced damage.
a) Reinforced concrete strengthening façade b)Detail of corroded reinforcement
Figure 3: Dabargadh, JamNagar- reinforced concrete strengthening façade
Starting at the end of the nineteenth century, the ruling family in JamNagar built a number of large palaces on the outskirts of the old town. Two were inspected in some detail, namely the Amah Vilas and Pritap Vilas (figure 4). These are massive two to four storey buildings, in dressed loadbearing sandstone, but incorporating some steel joists supporting suspended floors.
Figure 4: Pratap Vilas, JamNagar
Both buildings were of good workmanship and had generally been adequately maintained. Ornamentation at roof level was extensively damaged (figure 5). There was some cracking in the load bearing masonry, particularly at upper levels, but generally the load bearing elements were stable and no part of the structure had collapsed. However, there was more severe structural damage at upper levels in at least two places (figure 6).
Figure 5: Ornamentation fallen from roof level of Amah Vilas, JamNagar
Figure 6: Cracking in Pratap Vilas, JamNagar
