REPORT

Field visit to Nepal

Lessons learnt from of 7.8 M on 25 April 2015
And 7.3 M 12 May 2015 Disastrous Earthquake

Submitted to
Seismology Division
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Government of India, New Delhi

Submitted by
Manipur University, Imphal 795003
July 2015

REPORT
Field visit to Nepal
Lessons learnt from Disastrous Earthquake of 7.8 M on 25 April 2015
Background
Large to Great earthquakes are disastrous for the life of people and their properties,
but beside that there are ample opportunities to seismologists, earth scientists and engineers
to understand the type of damages and sustainability of existing infrastructures and
preparedness for future. Every earthquake has its unique characteristics that may be
evidenced by damages to the existing infrastructures. Now a days, we have modern
earthquake instruments network global level to records the various earthquake parameters.
The April 25th and May 12th, 2015 earthquakes in Nepal present themselves as the two
major post-instrumentation era events in the Himalayan region and they provide an
opportunity to study the earthquakes in relation to the seismotectonics of the Himalayan
terrain. In order to carry out field studies and learning from the earthquake effects, the
Ministry of Earth Sciences provided us an opportunity to learn from the actual effects of a
large Nepal Himalayas earthquake.
7.8 M Earthquake
A large earthquake of magnitude Mw7.8 occurred in central Nepal on April 25th,
2015 (Fig 1). The April 25 earthquake has been followed by many aftershocks that
followed the main shock. Most of the aftershocks are close to edges of the ruptured zone
as it may be approximately delineated from seismological observations. Based on
geological cross-sections, crustal structure model, and the preliminary seismological data
available few days after the main shock, it appears that the earthquake has ruptured a piece
of the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). The rupture started at the epicentre, about 80 km
to the northwest of Kathmandu and propagated eastward for about 130 km, rupturing the
area directly located under the capital city of Nepal. The focal mechanism derived from
the analyses of seismological data shows a fault plane striking N143E, with a very shallow
dip of 7 towards the North.
Tectonic Summary
The April 25, 2015 M 7.8 Nepal earthquake occurred as the result of thrust faulting
on or near the main frontal thrust between the subducting India plate and the overriding
Eurasia plate to the north. At the location of this earthquake, approximately 80 km to the
northwest of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, the India plate is converging with Eurasia
at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-northeast, driving the uplift of the Himalayan
mountain range. The preliminary location, size and focal mechanism of the April 25

Fig 1 Damaged areas around epicentral of 7.8 M and 7.3 M

earthquakes in Nepal Laprak village (7.8 M Earthquake) and
Singati village (7.3M Earthquake)

earthquake are consistent with its occurrence on the main sub-duction thrust interface
between the India and Eurasia plates ( Fig 2).
Although a major plate boundary with a history of large-to-great sized earthquakes,
large earthquakes on the Himalayan thrust are rare in the documented historical era. Just
four events of M6 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the April 25, 2015 earthquake
over the past century. One, a M 6.9 earthquake in August 1988, 240 km to the southeast of
the April 25 event, caused close to 1500 fatalities. The largest, an M 8.0 event known as
the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake, occurred in a similar location to the 1988 event. It
severely damaged Kathmandu, and is thought to have caused around 10,600 fatalities.
May 12, 2015 M 7.3 Nepal earthquake
The May 12, 2015 M 7.3 Nepal earthquake (SE of Zham, China) occurred as the
result of thrust faulting on or near the decollment associated with the Main Himalayan
Thrust, which defines the interface between the underthrusting India plate and the
overriding Eurasia plate to the north. At the location of this earthquake, approximately 80

km to the east-northeast of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, the India plate is

converging with Eurasia at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-northeast a fraction of
which (~18 mm/yr) is driving the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range. The May 12,
2015 event was located 150 km to the west, and which ruptured much of the decollment
between these two earthquakes (Fig 1). Events of the size of the May 12, 2015 earthquake
are typically about 55x30 km in size (length x width). The April 25, 2015 M 7.8 main
shock had approximate dimensions of ~120x80 km, directed from its hypocentre
eastwards, and towards Kathmandu. The May 12, 2015 earthquake is located just
beyond the eastern end of that rupture (NOAA 2015). It is not considered as aftershocks
of 7.8 M.
Historical Earthquakes in Nepal
The Himalayan front has been the location of many large earthquakes in the past.
Although they are not all well documented, recent paleoseismological investigations
provided a better idea of the past seismicity of the area, and more precisely of the lateral
extent of the Mw8.2 event that devastated Kathmandu in 1934. In the same study, the
penultimate event has also been identified, in 1255AD, and the series of previous events,
yielding a return time close to 700 800 yrs (Sapkota et al., 2013, Bollinger et al., 2014).
The most recent work by the international team formed of French researchers (L. Bollinger
and Y. Klinger for CEA and IPGP respectively), Singaporian researchers (P. Tapponnier
and his team, EOS) and Nepalese researchers (S. Sapkota and his team, DMG) has shown,
based on the balance between the energy dissipated by past

Fig.2 Epicenters of significant earthquakes in central Himalayan region based on data from
earthquakes
andRao
theetlong
term tectonic
loading,
that the area located between the
NCEI (2015),
al. (2006)
and Gahalaut
(2009)

earthquake of 1934, to the east, and the event of 1505, to the west, that did rupture last in
1344 AD, was very close to rupture, as proved by the event of April 25th, 2015 (Fig 2).
This earthquake induced many mass movements in mountainous areas and resulted
in landslide lakes, which could be another cause of secondary disasters. The mass
movements and deformation of weathered soft soil cover are the main causes of the
collapse or heavy damage to buildings and heavy casualties in mountainous areas. In
addition, the earthquake also triggered a major avalanche on the south slopes of Mt.
Everest, located approximately 160 km east-northeast of the epicentre. The avalanche
destroyed the base camp of climbers.
Aftershocks on 7.8 M Earthquake
The aftershocks are distributed in an area roughly 150 km long and 50 km wide,
with the majority of the aftershocks located in the eastern part of the ruptured area. At first
order, the area defined by the bulk of aftershocks corresponds to the ruptured area on the
fault plane. The location of the ruptured area, together with the shallow dip of the focal
mechanism, suggest that it is most probably the sub-horizontal part of the MHT that has
ruptured, mostly the deeper part of it. The absence of aftershocks to the south of the valley
of Kathmandu suggests that the rupture has not propagated southward to reach the surface
along the Main Frontal Thrust. The aftershocks of 7.8 M earthquake continued up to 11
May 2015 and 7.3 M earthquake continued up to 29 June 2015. The rapture of the 7.8 M
earthquake was extended towards east which is evident from the 158 aftershocks (Fig 4
and Fig 5). 7.3 M earthquake on 12 May 2015 was the new rapture and after continued
further SW and NE direction (Fig 4). 54 aftershocks recorded up to 19 June 2015. It seems

that rapture of both the earthquake was on HFT and MBT in Kathmandu Himalaya but the
7.3 M earthquake was not the aftershock of 7.8 M earthquake.

Fig. 3 Epicenters of main shock and aftershocks of 2015 Nepal earthquake series (USGS
Earthquake Hazards Program)

7.8 (25th April 2015)

7.3 (12th May 2015)

Fig 4 158 aftershocks after the main shock and 54 events after the 7.3 shock
7.8 (25th April
2015)
7.3 (12th May
2015)

Fig 5 Number of aftershocks observed per day since the main shock (7.8M)

Brief Geology of Nepal:

Nepal is located in the centre of the Himalayan mountain belt, and is almost
rectangular in shape with about 870 km length in the NWW-SEE and 130-260 km in N-S
direction. The Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) system consists of two or three thrust sheets
composed entirely of Siwalik rocks, from bottom to top mudstone, multi-storied sandstone
and conglomerate (Chamlagain and Gautam, 2015). These sedimentary foreland basin
deposits form an archive of the final stage of the Himalayan upheaval and record the most
recent tectonic events in the entire history of Himalayan evolution since ~14 Ma. The
northernmost thrust sheet of the MFT is truncated by the Lesser Himalayan sequence and
overlain by unmetamorphosed to weakly metamorphosed rocks of the Lesser Himalaya,
where the Lesser Himalayan rock package is thrust over the Siwalik Group along Main
Boundary Thrust (MBT). In western Himalaya crystalline thrust sheets are frequently
observed within the Lesser Himalaya (LH). The Lesser Himalayan zone generally forms a
duplex above the mid crustal ramp (Schelling and Arita, 1991; Srivastava and Mitra, 1994;
Decelles et al., 2001). The Main Central Thrust (MCT) system overlies the Lesser
Himalayan MBT system and was formed in ca. 24 Ma. This MCT system consists of high-

grade rocks, e.g. kyanite-sillimanite gneiss, schist and quartzite and is mostly characterized
by ductile deformation.

Fig. 6 Geological map of Nepal (LH: lesser Himalaya; HH: higher Himalaya;
TTS: Tibetan-Tethys sequence; STDS: South Tibetan detachment system)

Nepal has been divided into three major tectonic zones (Figure 6), namely, Main
Central Thrust (MCT), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Himalayan Frontal Fault (HFF)
(Piya, 2004). According to Nakata and Kumahara (2002), many active faults are distributed
along the major tectonic boundaries. These faults were produced by the collision of the
Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. A cross-section of the Nepal Himalayas running from

Fig 7 Major faults in the Himalayan region and rupture zones of earthquakes of 25
April 2015 and 12 May 2015 as shown by USGS (2015a) on a generalized cross-section
after Lav and Avouac (2000) and Kumar et al. (2006) (MFT: main frontal thrust;
MBT: main boundary thrust; MCT: main central thrust)

SSW-NNE is shown in Figure 7. Saijo et al. (1995) and Yagi et al. (2000) reported the
existence of active faults in the SW part the Kathmandu basin and they are cutting the Late
Pleistocene sediments and have a vertical displacement rate of 1 mm/yr.
The Kathmandu valley, where the 2015 Nepal earthquake caused heavy damage,
comprises of thick semi-consolidated fluvio-lacustrine Quaternary sediments on the top of
basement rocks. Piya (2004) reports that the maximum thickness of the valley sediments
reaches up to 550 m at the central part of the valley and the basement rocks composed of
Precambrian to Devonian rocks, such as limestone, dolomite, slate, marble, schist, metasandstone, phylitte, quartzite. The shear wave velocity of the soft sedimentary deposits
ranges between 167 m/s and 297 m/s and ground amplification may be ranging between 1.9
and 7.9 according to Chamlagain and Gautam (2015). There are number of damages
observed due to Recent Nepal earthquake in Kathmandu valley. Since, the rapture of the 7.8
M earthquake did not extend towards south of its epicentre where the Kathamndu valley is
located, therefore, observed damages in the Kathmandu city were not very significant.
Another reason is the type of construction of the buildings in the Kathmandu city.
Tectonic Setting
The east-west trending plate boundary between India and Eurasia comprises several
major and minor faults distributed on a roughly 200 km wide strip between the Himalayan
front and the main central thrust to the north. The seismic activity is caused by the
convergence of the Indian tectonic plate to the north towards the Eurasian plate with a
relative rate of approximately 40 mm per year. The shortening is accommodated by several
parallel faults; hence we speak of a diffuse plate boundary. The plate boundary at the foot
of the Himalaya is one of the most active continental boundaries worldwide and host of the
largest earthquakes in the region.

Figure 8: Historic earthquake locations along the Himalayas showing the seismic gaps as the well as
the patterns of temporal seismicity.

Along this Himalayan front, several large earthquakes occurred during the last
century. In the far East, along the border region of India, China and Bangladesh, the Assam

earthquake killed more than 1500 people and had a magnitude of 8.6. In the direct vicinity
of the 2015 earthquake, the Magnitude 8.1(Fig 8).
Bihar earthquake had an even stronger impact on Kathmandu and Nepal in 1934
than the most recent one. In the far West, in the years 1905 and 1803, the magnitude 7.8 and
8.1 Kangra and Uttarpradesh earthquakes occurred. Regarding the last 500 years of
seismicity, the location where the 1505 Lo Mustang earthquake happened is today
considered to be a seismic gap, a region where a future large earthquake is expected to
happen due to the on-going stress accumulation which hasnt been released during the last
centuries. The seismic pattern of large earthquakes in the Himalayans indicates local
clustering. The M7.3 follow- up earthquake of May 12th shows a similar spatial pattern as
the sequences of 1905 1906 during the Kangra event; in 1991 & 1999 during the Uttarkashi
and Chamoli earthquakes; 1916 1926, 1926 1945 in Uttaranchal; and 1947 1950 for
the Assam earthquake. About 50% of all large earthquakes during the last century can be
accounted for using this pattern that strong earthquakes occur in the spatial and temporal
vicinity of each other, normally within years. Thus the recent May the vent was quite likely
additionally induced by slow static triggering of the M7.8 earthquake (Fig 8). It is also
inferred that the strain was build up and part of its energy was released in these recent
earthquakes (Fig 9).
Ground Motion
In many cases in rural towns, there was enough time for people to leave their houses
given the frequency content and shaking mechanism. A few reports from towns indicate that
only the elderly or pregnant women unfortunately were unable to run out in time. There is
a widely held notion among the general public that the intensity of ground shaking and hence
the destructive power of an earthquake generally decreases as the epicentral distance
increases. Thus, when a strong earthquake occurs, the location of the epicentre gets a lot of

Figure 9: Red arrow: tectonic

convergence. Black lines:
local stress
orientation
(WSM, World Stress Map).
Additional
literature:
Avouac, 2003; Bollinger et
al., 2006, 2014

attention in the press, with the earthquake location often depicted on a map as concentric
circles around the epicentre. This way of thinking may be also related to the fact that many
traditional attenuation laws, or groundmotion prediction equations (GMPE), are empirical
relationships to represent a continuous reduction of the intensity of ground motion with an
increasing epicentral distance, implicitly assuming seismic waves to originate from a point
source. Such a model would be applicable only when the rupture zone is relatively small,
i.e. when the magnitude of an earthquake is not very high. The ground acceleration was
computed using the USGS data for the Nepal earthqualke. The acceleration ranges from
0.02 to0.74g, which is displayed in the Intensity map (Fig 10).
When a strong earthquake is caused by a dip-slip movement on a large and almost
horizontal fault, as in the case of the main shock of 25 April 2015, the epicentral distance is
not a very relevant parameter for the determination of the ground motion, because a large
portion of the affected area lies even directly above the rupture zone. Seismic waves arrive
at a given point from the whole of the rupture zone and not just from the epicentre. This
explains why the damage caused by the main shock of 25 April 2015 did not decrease with
an increasing epicentral distance, as evident from the intensity map shown in 9. In fact, the
largest damage and loss of lives occurred in the Sindhupalchok district, about 100 km to the
east of the epicentre in Gorkha. It is quite evident that 7.3 M earthquake has effcetd the
damages in Sindhupalchok district although it is located quite far from 7.8 M earthquake.
It is thus clear that the attenuation laws employing the epicentral distance as a
parameter should not be used in an earthquake hazard analysis in the Himalayan region, as
the rupture zone of a strong seismic event in this region tends to be large and almost
horizontal. It is necessary to resort to a more modern attenuation law that uses the minimum
distance from the causative fault as a parameter. There could still be a research need to
develop or refine a representative attenuation model suitable for an earthquake hazard
analysis in this region.
Intensity of 7.8 M Earthquake
It is based upon the observation of earthquake damage at a particular location. The
intensity of a quake differs greatly from place to place. It depends upon such factors as the
distance from the epicenter, the design and quality of construction of local buildings, and
the type of surface beneath the buildings. The intensity of an earthquake at a particular
locality indicates the violence of earth motion produced there by the earthquake. It is

determined from reported effects of the tremor on human beings, furniture, buildings,
geological structure, etc. is variable over the area affected by the earthquake, with high
intensities near the epicentre and lower values further away. This phenomenon is the result
of seismic-wave attenuation, which is the reduction in wave amplitude and wave energy as
they travel away from their source.
On 25th April, 2015, at 11:56 local time, a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck
Nepal, with the epicentre in Gorkha District (north-west) of Kathmandu and south of the
China border. Dozens of aftershocks followed, including a 6.7 magnitude earthquake on
26th April 2015 at 12:54 local time. The earthquake has been found with a maximum
Mercalli Intensity of IX (Violent) (Fig 10).
Epicentre of main shock is approximately 34 km east-southeast of Lamjung, Nepal,
and its hypocentre at the depth of approximately 15 km. These areas are densely populated,
including remote villages perched on hilly areas.
The hypocenter of the Mw 7.3 earthquake on May 12th, 2015 at 7:05 UTC (12:50
local time) was located around 80 kilometers northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal at 10 kilometer
depth (GEOFON). The rupture plane strikes parallel to the Himalayan Belt WNW to ESE,
dips with 10 to the North and extends about 60 km along strike and 20 km perpendicular
to it. The maximum PGA was estimated at 0.4g( Fig 11).

Fig. 10 Intensity of ground shaking produced by 7.8 Mw main shock of 25 April 2015
(Source: USGS, 2015a)

Fig 11 Intensity map of Nepal earthquakes ( 7.8M and 7.3M)

Observations about earthquake damage to structures

Building Typology
Most of these buildings were also built of unreinforced masonry (although in a
slightly different style) and caused similar fatality rates. In 1.7 million destroyed houses (ca.
5 million rooms), 65,000 died. As a ratio this is 1 death per ca. 250 destroyed houses. In the
current event, the ratio is in the order of 1 death per 350-400 destroyed houses (however, it
is important to take the time of day difference into account). Thus both earthquakes have
similar ratios.
In Kathmandu, from photos seen from the field, it appears as though low quality
building and material (i.e. concrete strength), additional rebar and other safe building
practices saved many catastrophic collapses, thus reducing the death toll.
Earthquake damage to temples and heritage structures
The earthquake of 25 April 2015 had a devastating effect on the ancient temples and
heritage structures, many of which are parts of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites
in the Kathmandu Valley. A disproportionately high percentage of such structures collapsed
during to the 2015 earthquake shaking, compared to the brick masonry and reinforced
concrete frame buildings in their immediate neighbourhood, most of which did not collapse
and mostly suffered only minor visible damage.

Various possible explanations for the higher level of earthquake damage to the
temples and the heritage structures are the age of the heritage structures, which are generally
older than the surrounding buildings. There was a lack of maintenance of these historical
buildings. There is unusual structural systems (higher flexibility, larger masses). There is a
pre-existing damage and cracks due to past strong earthquakes of 1833 and 1934 Hasty and
poor-quality reconstruction after collapse caused by the 1934 earthquake. The natural
frequencies of these monumental structures usually differ significantly from those of normal
brick masonry buildings. This could also have made them more vulnerable to the ground
motion of the main shock dominated by long period motions.
It is interesting to note that some old temples that have survived the 2015 earthquake
are also known to be those that suffered the least damage in the 1934 earthquake disaster,
for example the Akash Bhairav Temple at Indrachowk, Kathmandu, the Pashupatinath
Temple in Kathmandu and the Nyatapole Temple at the Taumadhi Square, Bhaktapur
(Shakya, 2000). In the Nyatapole Temple, the highest pagoda temple in Nepal, only the
uppermost storey shows externally visible damage, which seems to a re-run of the 1934
earthquake damage to this temple, as recalled by some elderly people in Bhaktapur. An
investigation of the possible reasons (e.g. more robust structural system, better maintenance,
etc.) for the apparent earthquake resilience of these temples could provide valuable hints for
the earthquake-resistant redesign of the collapsed temples.
Earthquake damage to stone rubble masonry houses
In the mountainous regions of Nepal, a majority of people live in houses made of
stone rubble masonry held together with mud mortar. Such structures are inherently
vulnerable to sudden brittle failure when subjected to strong earthquake shaking. In some
mountainous regions of Nepal, almost 100% of such stone masonry buildings collapsed
during the 2015 earthquake sequence. This is the main factor behind the high death toll in
the mountainous Sindhupalchok district, where 3423 deaths were confirmed as of 17 May
2015, accounting for about 40% of the total number of 8567 people killed in the 2015 Nepal
earthquake disaster. Also in other mountainous districts, such as Nuwakot, Dhading,
Rasuwa, Gorkha, Kavrepalanchok, etc., many stone rubble masonry buildings failed,
causing numerous injuries and deaths. To minimize losses of lives and property in the rural
area during inevitable future earthquakes, it is urgently necessary to spread the knowledge
about cost-effective means to improve the earthquake resistance of stone masonry buildings.
It would be a mistake if the collapsed buildings are hastily rebuilt without incorporating
earthquake-resistant features.
Numerous landslides triggered by the earthquake have also proven to be deadly in
the mountainous regions with unstable slopes. Hence, it is necessary to make detailed
geological hazard surveys to identify zones particularly vulnerable to rockfalls and
landslides. Such locations have to be officially declared as danger zones where building
activities are no longer permitted.

Worst affected Sindhupalchok District after the 7.8 and 7.3 M earthquake
Sindhupalchok is one of the worst-affected districts as a result of the earthquake that
took place on the 25th April. Buildings in these areas are less damaged than in other parts
of the district (Fig 12). In the belt to the north of this well accessible area including Chautara,
the district capital, damages are greater. In these areas there is higher population density and
major landslides have blocked roads. In a word, the area was devastated. 80-90% of
buildings have been rendered uninhabitable; 20-30% were razed to the ground. Pillared
concrete buildings (accounting for less than 5% of the total) appeared to be intact. Almost
no stone/brick/mortar buildings are now inhabitable. Many village roads, asphalt and
cinder, have long cracks 3-6 wide. Only a few roads have craters large enough to prevent
driving, but many are blocked by rock landslides. Sections of roadway will be pried away
by the coming monsoon rains. Along our route, all bridges were intact with no overt signs
of damage.

Fig.12 Aerial footage shot on Tuesday of Chautara in Nepals

Sindhupalchowk District shows the extent of damage from the two
major earthquakes in the region.
Earthquake damage to Reinforced Concrete Buildings
Concrete buildings are relatively new in Nepal and have been built mainly since the
1960s. Such a building consists typically of a reinforced concrete (RC) skeletal frame with
brick infill walls. The performance of the RC frame buildings in the 2015 earthquake was
not necessarily superior to that of well-constructed traditional brick masonry structures.
Many people are surprised that quite a few of these modern-looking structures also collapsed
during the earthquake shaking. Quite a few recently built apartment blocks and shopping
malls also suffered heavy damage, leading in some cases to a total loss of substantial

investments of the owners of these expensive structures. The reinforced concrete (RC)
structures were built in Nepal in many cases without performing proper structural analysis
and design by a qualified structural engineer. Even when a structural analysis was carried
out, more often than not the earthquake load considered in the design was too low, usually
not more than about 0.1 g. Poor concrete quality and deficient reinforcement detailing are
further factors that make the reinforced concrete structures in Nepal vulnerable to
earthquake damage.
While an RC skeletal frame efficiently supports the static vertical gravity forces, it
is not suitable to resist the substantial horizontal shear forces occurring during a strong
earthquake. Many building owners are not aware of this fact, due to which a vast majority
of the reinforced concrete buildings in Nepal have been built without proper shear walls,
which would ideally be in the form of adequately reinforced concrete walls. As a result, the
horizontal shear forces due to an earthquake would be carried primarily by the brick infill
walls.
Damage to Bridges
There is no report yet about the damage to bridges. Figure 13 and 14 shows damaged
bridges at along Arniko Highway near Lokanthali Bus stand at Kathmandu. The bridge in
Kathmandu City is a two span-simply supported reinforced concrete structure. The bridge
appears to be functional despite a nearby reinforced concrete building collapsed in a pancake mode. We suspect that the E-W trending lineament in Kathmandu valley is responsible
for the damage of the bridge. Most of the bridge are not damaged after the Gorkha
earthquake. The Bridge in Gorkha district is a single-span truss bridge. This bridge is also
not damaged despite of its location is in the epicentral area. We also noticed that in Balua
village the newly constructed bridge is also intact, although it is very near to the epicentral
area.

Fig 13 Number of roads

bridges are damaged in
Nepal

3ft

Fig. 14 Severe cracks developed over a road bridge in Kathmandu after

the 7.8 M earthquake. A vertical slip of 1 meter along the E-W trending
fault in Kathmandu valley, which seems to be activated after the 7.8 M
earthquake and damaged the bridge

Summary
The seismotectonic setting of Nepal Himalays is known better after the two large Nepal
earthquakes. The following are emerged:
1. The large earthquakes caused by the dip slip movement along a thrust fault HFT and
MBT between sybducting Indian plate and over ridden Eurasian plate forms a
horizontal plane (dip 70 and strike N 1430 E) with a very shallow depth.
2. The epicentre of these recent earthquakes are not located within the rupture zone of
great earthquake of Nepal Bihar of 1934.
3. The damages of these earthquake area does not decrease with the epicentral distance
from the earthquake. It is due to the triggering of another 7.3 earthquake to the east
of 7.8 M earthquake. Damages patterns of many villages of Sindhupalchok have
been effected worst due the second earthquake. Another reason is the horizontal
rupture in a very shallow depth also effected the damages for large distances from
the epicentre of 7.8 M earthquake.
4. The ground motion records available from a USGS seismograph at Kathmandu. It
reveals that ground motion
5. It is difficult to predict the future large/great earthquake, however, preparedness is
very essential besides the rehabilitation work. Even an existing building that has
suffered only minor but still seems to be structurally deficient such as many tall
storied building and commercial complexes in Laltipur and Bhaktapur districts. Such
buildings need to be identified and retrofitted.
6. There are chances for large number of landslides which may again trigger during the
monsoon season along the highways above the tributaries of Kosi river in Nepal as
these are triggered due to the two earthquakes may become vulnerable in the next
few months. There is need for a contingency plan to be ready for its immediate
implementation. If the damming of these tributaries takes place, the Nepal as well as
North Bihar mat become vulnerable.
7. Since, there was no earthquake triggered on the west of 7.8 m Earthquake after 1505
AD, this region is now considered as Seismic gap with an enhanced earthquake
risk. Unfortunately, if the same patterns of earthquake epicentre of 7.8 M takes place
(west of Great earthquake of 1934), it may be in either western Nepal or Uttarakhand
state of India in the future.

If anything is not referred, it is not done intentionally and authors apologise for that.
Team Members
1. Prof Arun Kumar, Manipur University
2. Shri L. Someswar Roy, MU
3. Shri M. Devachandra Singh, MU
4. Meenal Adhikari TU Kathmandu, Nepal

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We thankfully acknowledge Seismology Division, Ministry of Earth Sciences
Government of India for providing the financial assistance to carry out the post-earthquake
survey at Nepal. Our thanks to Shri Deepak Adhikari, Sangh Parivar Pracharak at Nepal
and one of his associate Shri Meenal from Tribhuvan University to provide the suggestions
and guidance for visiting the earthquake damaged sites at Nepal. We also sincerely thanks
to Shri Ranjit Rae, Ambassador of India at Nepal and Dr. Brij Mohan Singh Rathore from
ICIMOD, Nepal for having discussions in their office with the team members. We also
acknowledge Dr. S. Manichandra to prepare the earthquake intensity map of large Nepal
Earthquake and useful discussions for the preparation of the report.

( Arun Kumar)
Team Leader

REFERENCES

Bollinger, L., S.N. Sapkota, P. Tapponnier, Y. Klinger, M. Rizza, J. van der Woerd, D.R. Tiwari, R.
Pandey, Estimating the return times of great Himalayan earthquakes in Eastern Nepal: evidence
from the Patu and Bardibas strands of the Main Frontal Thrust, Journal of Geophysical Research,
doi: 10.1002/2014JB010970, 2014.
Chamlagain, D., Gautam, D (2015) Seismic hazard in the Himalayan Intermontane Basins: An example
from Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Mountain Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction, pp. 73-103.
Decelles P. G., Robinson, D. M., Quade, J., Copeland, P., Upreti, B. N., Ojha T P,Garzione, C. N., ; 2001
Regional Structure and stratigraphy of fold thrust belt, far western Nepal. Tectonics 20, p 487-509
Nakata, T., Kumahara, Y (2002) Active faulting across the Himalaya and its significance in the collision
tectonics. Active Fault Research, 22, 716.
Piya, B.K. (2004) Generation of a geological database for the liquefaction hazard assessment in Kathmandu
valley. MSc Thesis, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation,
Enschede, The Netherlands, 141 p.
Rao, N.P., Kumar, P., Kalpna, Tsukuda, T. and Ramesh, D.S. (2006). The Devastating Muzaffarabad
Earthquake of 8 October 2005: New Insights into Himalayan Seismicity and Tectonics. Gondwana
Research, Vol. 9, pp. 365-378
Gahalaut, V.K. (2009). Earthquakes in India: Hazards, Genesis and Mitigation Measures. In Natural and
Anthropogenic Disasters: Vulnerability, Preparedness and Mitigation, M.K. Jha (editor), Springer,
Netherlands, pp.17-43.
Saijo, K., Kimora, K., Dongol, G., Komatsubara, T., Yagi, H (1995) Active faults in south western
Kathmandu basin, central Nepal. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, 11 (Special Issue), 217-224.
Sapkota, S.N., et al. Primary surface ruptures of the great Himalayan earthquakes in 1934 and 1255, Nature
Geoscience, 71-76 (2013).
Schelling D., and Arita, A.,1991; Thrust tectonics, crustal shortening and structure of the far Eastern Nepal
Himalaya; Tectonics V 10 p 851-861
Shakya, N.M. (2000). Temples and Buildings Standing over Kathmandu Valley which are Vulnerable to
Earthquakes. Earthquake-Safe: Lessons to Be Learned from Traditional Construction, International
Conference on the Seismic Performance of Traditional Buildings, Nov.16-18, 2000, Istanbul,
Turkey.
Srivastava, P., Mitra, G (1994) Thrust geometries and deep structure of the outer and lesser Himalaya,
Kumaon and Garhwal (India): implications for evolution of the fold-and-thrust belt. Tectonics, 13,
89109.

Upreti, B.N., Le Fort, P (1999) Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes of Nepal: problem of their origin. In:
Macfarlane A, Quade J, Sorkhabi R (eds), Geological Society of America special paper, Vol 328,
pp. 225238.
Yagi, H., Maemoku, H., Ohtsuki, Y., Saiju, K., Nakata, T (2000) Recent activities faults distributed in and
around Kathmandu valley, Lower Himalayan zone. Proceedings of the Active Fault Research for the
New Millennium, pp. 557-560.

Meeting with Officials in Nepal

Shri Ranjit Rae, Indian Ambassador, Nepal, Prof Arun Kumar, Devachandra Singh,
Someshwor Roy and Deepak Adhikari in Embassy of Indian, Kathmandu

Dr. Bri Mohan Singh, Rathore, ICIMOD Nepal, Prof Arun Kumar, Devachandra Singh,
Someshwor Roy and Deepak Adhikari in Kathmandu

FIELD PHOTOGRAPHS

GPS track from Kathmandu to 7.8 M and 7.3 M epicenter zones and other effected areas in Nepal.

Satellite image showing Bhaktapur (dotted red circled). 7.8M earthquake effected
photographs shown below.

Bhaktapur (Royal Durbar Square entrance)

ROYAL DARBAR SQUARE (Bhaktapur)

Dome of the Royal Durbar square temple was damaged and corridor was collapsed due to the 7.8 M Earthquake

Chautra, 328 km from Kathmandu (Highly damaged area)

Most of the houses collapsed in Chautara after 7.8 M and 7.3 M earthquakes

Lomasangu

Houses damaged due to the 7.3 M

Earthquake at Lomasangu village
after the 7.3 M earthquake

Barahbise

Barabise villages Damaged houses in the village and large fissures developed on the hill
slope along the Kosi River due to 7.3M earthquake. The river is vulnerable for the ponding
during monsoon season.

Damaged in Lalitpur District

Beams and walls of the masonry collapsed due to the 7.8 M Earthquake at Lalitpur, near to
Kathmandu

Traverse to 7.3 M earthquake epicentre at Nepal China border at Singati village

Singati

Damaged houses in Singati village

with cracks on the bed rocks, rock
slides and fissures on the ground
near the epicentre of 7.3 M
Earthquake

Traverse from Kathmandu to Epicenter (7.8M) via Gorkha, Balua and Barpak.

Balua

Most of the houses are fully damaged at Balua village due to &.8M earthquake.

Barpak and Laprak villages (Epicentral areas 7.8 M Earthquake)

Damaged villages, School and houses (Barpak) and large fissures at the epicentral areas of 7.8
M Gorkha earthquake.

Satellite image showing Basantapur (dotted red circled). 7.8 M earthquake effected photographs shown
below.
Basantapur (Kathmandu Durbar Square)

Damaged building of Basantapur Durbar Square (with temporary supports) and cracks and
partially collapsed palace, Kathmandu due to 7.8 M earthqauke.

Before earthquake

After earthquake

Photo 3 Dharahara tower in Kathmandu before and after the 25 April 2015 earthquake

Before earthquake

After earthquake

Bhaktapur Durbar Square before and after the 25 April 2015 earthquake (the elegant Vatsala temple
collapsed during the earthquake)