'Broken road near Chambi Bridge. Kangra Valley, April 1905'

Photograph, India, 1905.

From a page captioned, 'Earthquake. Kangra Valley. 1905', from an album compiled by Lieutenant Colonel George Frederick Joseph Paterson (1885-1949), 34th Sikh Pioneers, 1900-1937.

The Kangra region in Himachal Pradesh was hit by a major earthquake on 4 April 1905. The earthquake destroyed tens of thousands of buildings and is reported to have killed around 20,000 people. Hansard for 10 April 1905 records the Under-Secretary of State for India, the Marquess of Bath, reporting that, 'A double company of 34th Pioneers also left Mian Mir on April 7th to render assistance at Dharmsala, Palampur, Kangra and other places in Kangra Valley'.