Earthquakes : Nepal 2015

Question 1

Location :

Answer 1

• Location of earthquake : central Nepal, near the city of Kathmandu
• Areas affected : central and eastern Nepal, much of the Ganges river plain in northern India, and northwestern Bangladesh + southern parts of the Plateau of Tibet and western Bhutan
• Location of epicentre : 34km east-southeast of Lamjung + 77km northwest of Kathmandu. The focus was 15km underground.

Question 2

Basic Information :

Answer 2

• The Nepal earthquake ( also called the Gorkha earthquake ) was a severe earthquake that struck near Kathmandu ( central Nepal ) on April 25, 2015.
• About 9000 were killed, many thousands injured, and more than 600,000 structures in towns surrounding the epicentre were destroyed.
• The initial earthquake was of a magnitude of 7.8. There were two large aftershocks, with magnitudes 6.6 and 6.7 within an hour of the main earthquake, along with many smaller aftershocks over the following days. On May 12, a magnitude 7.3 aftershock struck 76km east-northeast of Kathmandu. This killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 2000.

Question 3

Boundary :

Answer 3

Earthquakes were created by the continental collision boundary between the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate.

1. Two continental plates move into each other
2. Neither plate subducts because they are of the same density
3. This creates friction, and the plates push each other to form fold mountains ( Himalayas )
4. As they push, they get stuck + break free, creating friction, which in turn creates earthquakes.

Question 4

Steps of the earthquake :

Answer 4

1. As the two tectonic plates get stuck, pressure builds up.
2. When they break loose, seismic energy is released ( at the focus )
3. This tectonic activity creates an earthquake.

The shallower the focus, the heavier the damages caused by the earthquake. ( 15km )

Question 5

Immediate consequences :

Answer 5

• This was the worst earthquake in Nepal in more than 80 years.
• 8,632 dead and 19,009 injured.Many people lost their friends, family + loved ones.
• The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing approximately 20 people.
• The steep valleys of the area suffered many landslides, and the village of Ghodatabela was covered, killing 250 people.

Question 6

Social consequences :

Answer 6

• Hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless. People had to be rehoused ( emergency shelters had to be paid for by the government ) and put into refugee camps.
• Diseases spread quickly, and increased the overstraining of hospitals. Overstraining of hospitals meant overworked doctors + other staff, medicine supplies running out quickly without being able to get new ones, and many injured won’t be able to get treated.
• 1.7 million children were left out in the open.
• Businesses were destroyed, leading to a loss of jobs and a drop in the economy.
• Lack of food supplies as harvests were destroyed and the economy was failing.

Question 7

Economic consequences :

Answer 7

• Buildings and infrastructure had to be repaired.
• Damage to transportation and communication links made trade difficult.
• Income is lost as businesses are destroyed and people are injured or killed, decreasing the working population.
• Leaving many orphans - having to provide orphanages + care for the government.
• Lack of food supplies as harvests were destroyed - need to import food supplies, can’t sell harvests.
• The total value of direct and indirect impact of the earthquake to Nepalese economy was close to USD 7 billion, equivalent to one-third of the country’s GDP.

Question 8

Environmental consequences :

Answer 8

• Centuries-old buildings were destroyed at UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley, including some at the Changu Narayan Temple and the Dharahara Tower. This, among other things, led to a loss in tourism and therefore a loss for the economy.
• Thousands of houses and infrastructure were destroyed across the country.