Nepal Earthquake of April 25, 2015

A powerful earthquake of magnitude (M) 7.8 occurred on April 25, 2015 at the plate boundary between Indian plate and Eurasian plate. The epicenter of this earthquake is located approximately 80 km northwest of Kathmandu, Nepal. This epicenter location is near to the district Gorkha for which it is also called as Gorkha earthquake. The convergent movement of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate resulted in the strain accumulation along major faults and hence produced many significant earthquakes along the boundary in past. This earthquake is as severe as its predecessor event, the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake where the fatalities was 10,600 while 8000 and above during this event. We describe in detail the seismotectonic aspects of the 2015 Nepal earthquake (Mw 7.8) and the damage caused by it. We also provide a background on the seismicity of the Himalayan region. Disciplines Engineering | Science and Technology Studies Publication Details Sitharam, T. & Vinod, J. S. (2015). Nepal earthquake of April 25, 2015. International Journal of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, 6 (1), 81-90. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers/5369 International Journal of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, 6(1), 81-90, January-June 2015 81 Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. InvIted Commentary nepal earthquake of april 25, 2015 T.G. Sitharam, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India J.S. Vinod, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia A powerful earthquake of magnitude (M) 7.8 occurred on April 25, 2015 at the plate boundary between Indian plate and Eurasian plate. The epicenter of this earthquake is located approximately 80 km northwest of Kathmandu, Nepal. This epicenter location is near to the district Gorkha for which it is also called as Gorkha earthquake. The convergent movement of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate resulted in the strain accumulation along major faults and hence produced many significant earthquakes along the boundary in past. This earthquake is as severe as its predecessor event, the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake where the fatalities was 10,600 while 8000 and above during this event. We describe in detail the seismotectonic aspects of the 2015 Nepal earthquake (Mw 7.8) and the damage caused by it. We also provide a background on the seismicity of the Himalayan region. The tectonic framework of Indian subcontinent is spatio-temporarily varied and complex. The rapid drifting of Indian plate towards Himalayas in the north eastern direction with a high velocity along with its low plate thickness (Kumar et al. 2007) might be the cause for high seismicity of the Indian region. Indian plate is moving northward at about 45 mm/year per year and it collides with the Eurasian Plate (Figure 1, Bilham 2004). The collision resulted in the reduction of convergent movement of Indian plate approximately to 18 mm/yr. This collision also resulted in the development of potential slip available to drive large thrust earthquakes beneath the Himalaya. When continents converge, large amounts of shortening and thickening take place, like in the Himalayas and the Tibet. Due to this massive collision, the Himalayas were formed and also resulted in large numbers of earthquakes along the plate boundary. This plate boundary in the Himalayan regions is a major cause of earthquakes in this region. In a similar process, involving the Indian Plate and the Burmese micro-plate, results in earthquakes in the DOI: 10.4018/ijgee.2015010105