A handful of photographs of Shillong from before and after the earthquake may be accessed here and an illustrated epicentral study by LaTouche may be found here. The mechanism and magnitude of the Great Assam earthquake remained in doubt for more than a century, but we now know that it was caused by about 15 m of slip on a south-dipping reverse fault. Oldham (1899) described the earthquake (he calculated its depth as 9 miles) in a famous report, that for the first time, hinted at accelerations exceeding 1 g. Seismograms, triangulation and intensity data for the earthquake have been re-evaluated between 1999 and 2001 leading to the following conclusions.

1) Ms magnitude 8.0 (Ambraseys)

2) Reverse faulting occurred between ≈30 km and 9 km depth, raising a 110 km segment of the northern edge of the Shillong plateau approximately 10 m. (Bilham and England, 2001. pdf) ( html).

3) Re-evaluated MSK Intensities for the earthquake from India, Bhutan, and Tibet reveal maximum intensities that correspond to the region of maximum uplift. Isoseismal areas for intensities>VII are considerably reduced compared to those of Oldham, (1899). (Ambraseys and Bilham, 2001, pdf)

4) Amplified intensities occurred throughout the thick sediments surrounding the plateau, and liquefaction processes followed most of the rivers in the region. (Hough et al. 2004 pdf )

Articles by Rajendran et al. (Tectonics, 2004 & 2006) ignore the inferred rupture parameters, and newly evaluated MSK intensity data for the earthquake [refs 3&4]. Their articles are marred by faulty logic and errors in drafting and interpretation. One of their published profiles for gravity for example has been distorted to emphasize their case for a fault near the Brahmaputra river. Their hypothesis is not supported by SRTM digital elevation data, nor by any concentration of microearthquakes, nor by post-seismic vertical elevation changes [Fig3, ref 3], nor by gravity data when these are represented correctly. Moreover, had the Oldham fault ruptured to the surface it would have intersected the northern edge of the plateau at its western end, and have emerged some 20 km south of its northern edge at its eastern end. Thus their conjectured fault near the Brahmaputra, for which there is no geophysical support even in their article, has the wrong strike and is 50-70 km too far north. See critical discussion of these articles.

Rupture of the Oldham fault stopped, like the Bhuj 2001 rupture, 9 km below the surface. There is no evidence that primary surface faulting in 1897 ruptured to the surface even in distributed afterslip or folding, since this would have been manifest in the geodetic data.. Numerical analysis of slip on the Chedrang fault, a NNW trending normal fault at the western edge of the subsurface Oldham fault, confirms that its slip of 10 m is consistent with slip on the Oldham fault. The photo below from Oldham (1899) shows surface folding (tilted trees) above the northern end of the Chedrang fault where it crosses the surface projection of the footwall of the Oldham fault.

SHILLONG 100 YEARS LATER Shillong is now a concrete and steel city but many memories of the earthquake can be found. Numerous monuments were damaged but repaired after the earthquake. LaTouche and Oldham photographed some of these in their damaged state and attempted to infer shaking directions and intensities from them. "With feelings of intense pain I write the few details known of the sad deaths which have occurred.That of Mr. McCabe's will be received with feelings of widespread regret. He had, for some little time past, been suffering from neuralgia, and exhausted with the pain had retired to bed. There at 4:30 P. M., on the eventful afternoon, Mrs. McCabe left him quietly sleeping, and when she hastily returned from the drive upon which she had just started, and communicated the fact of her husband's position, many friends went quickly to the rescue, only to find their worse fears realized. Death, it is believed, was instantaneous. The remains were speedily extricated, but life was totally extinct . So tragically has passed away one highly esteemed publicly and privately, and the sad event has cast a great gloom over all." Lambert, 1898 The tombstone shown left stands in the graveyard of St. Mary's church Shillong. "Sacred to the memory of Robert Blair McCabe, Inspector General of Police Assam, killed in the earthquake of 12 June 1897 at Shillong aged 43 years" "Brief life is here our portion; Brief sorrow, short lived care; The life that knows no ending, The tearless life, is there.