Saturday, April 25, 2015

Quake Report : 7.9R earthquake near Kathmandu (Nepal) at 12:15:20hrs IST on 25Apr2015


28.131°N 84.649°E. Depth=15.0 km (9.3 mi) 

Nearby Cities

  1. 49km (30mi) E of Lamjung, Nepal
  2. 69km (43mi) NW of Kirtipur, Nepal
  3. 70km (43mi) NW of Kathmandu, Nepal
  4. 70km (43mi) NE of Bharatpur, Nepal
  5. 72km (45mi) NW of Patan, Nepal

       Tectonic Summary
Seismotectonics of the Himalaya and Vicinity

    1. Seismicity in the Himalaya dominantly results from the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates, which are converging at a relative rate of 40-50 mm/yr. Northward underthrusting of India beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth. The surface expression of the plate boundary is marked by the foothills of the north-south trending Sulaiman Range in the west, the Indo-Burmese Arc in the east and the east-west trending Himalaya Front in the north of India.(Read more here)

      You can get technical updates of the earthquake here and here

      As per news reports, death toll in Nepal at the time of writing is 150 with another 18 deaths being reported in India. 14 after shocks have been reported. The fatalities will certainly increase with time and also the bad news is that this quake comes just as the SW monsoons are around the corner and we have 5 months of rains ahead where water ingress into the cracks and fissures in the mountains formed as a result of the 7.9R quake will lead to landslides.

      Sources : USGS/CNN

      Praful Rao,
      Kalimpong,
      Dist Darjeeling
      1530h (IST)


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