hazards - nepal earthquake

the Gorkha earthquake

• 25th april 2015

• 7.8Mw

• slip along main frontal thrust fault

• epicentre - 90km NE of Kathmandu

• focus - 15km

• 51 aftershocks equal or above 5Mw

Nepal’s tectonic setting

• middle of a collision zone - Indo-Australian plate and Eurasian plate

• earthquake prone country - on average two 7-8Mw every 80 years

• geological structure of valleys in Nepal increases risks - laes filled many valleys leaving layers of soft sediment

• Kathmandu valley sediment reaches 600m deep - material amplifies seismic waves = liquefaction

environmental impacts

• avalanche on Everest killed 20 climbers

• landslides

social impacts

• 8800 deaths and 22000 injured

• 160 deaths in other countries

• 2.8 million peopl displaced from Kathmandu valley

• 473,000 houses destroyed or badly damaged

• estimated 1 million people required food assistance

• women and girls trafficked from poorest families to south asian brothels

• lower caste Tibeto-Burman were hardest hit - live on higher slopes

• culturally important locations were damaged - 9-story Dharahara tower

economic impacts

• $10 billion estimated cost of damage

• asian development bank provided $200 million in aid

• government, businesses and individuals lacked capital reserves to cope so levels of debt increased due to increased borrowing

• disruption to planting season ahead of monsoon - long term impact on food security

political impacts

• economic impact has undermined progress towards peace and democracy

• international aid recieved from a range of EDCs and ACs

• aid created tension with India