Devastation by the earthquake of 2015
National Earthquake Safety Day is observed on Magh 2 every year to commemorate the natural atrocities and damages caused by the ‘nabbe saalko bhukampa’ (the earthquake of 1934) which is also known as the Great Bihar-Nepal Earthquake of 1934.
Earthquake in Nepal is somehow a continued process. Nepal is at risk of earthquakes, the main reason for the formation of mountain ranges is the movement of tectonic plates. The remains (fossils) of Shaligram and other sea creatures found in Nepali mountain ranges have proved that there was an ocean in that place many thousands of years ago.It has been confirmed that there is the Tethys Sea in that place and the formation of a mountain range due to the movement of tectonic plates over thousands of years. Due to this geographical situation, Nepal has always been at risk of earthquakes.
Big earthquakes in Nepal return in 80 to 100 years. Several small scale earthquakes, however, take place in between. The earthquake of 1934 was the big earthquake returned in 100 years. This was an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The natural disaster killed 8,000 persons in Nepal.
Yet again another big earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes took place in year 2015. Earthquake in Nepal in 1988 and 1995 also damaged the lives and properties.
Inthe year 1934 AD, there were not as many hospitals and facilities as there are now, many died without getting treatment! Many of these rivers and streams changed their course due to the earthquake, some of the water sources dried up and some new sources overflowed.
Earthquake is a natural disaster and even if it cannot be prevented, one can protect oneself from the possible risks. Earthquakes do not kill us, but when an earthquake strikes, our houses and infrastructures destroyed and our lives are lost. As such, earthquake-safe society and infrastructure should be given as a gift to the coming generation. Continuation of safe construction and vigilance campaigns must be done. Stay safe, stay protected.
The epicentre of the earthquake of 2015 was Barpak of Gorkha district. That took place on April 25, 2015claimed the lives of about 9,000 people. More than hundreds of thousands of private homes were destroyed andmore than 900 archaeological sites were also destroyed. The quake affected Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, Gorkha, Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga, Sindhuli, Kavrepalanchok, Makwanpur, Dhading, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur districts. The other 18 districts suffered partial damages.
Many people have lost their lives in the year 2015 AD earthquake due to wrong or incomplete knowledge to be safe from earthquake and incorrectly built physical infrastructures. Because of impractical and less logical imported information, such as hiding under a table, hiding under a bed, and living indoors, many could not save themselves even when they had time to escape.
Earthquakes are an unavoidable part of Nepal’s future, just as they have been a part of its past as Nepal lies in a very active seismic zone.
It is thus very important and essential to create awareness among the people as well as the policy makers about the consequence of such disasters so that steps can be taken to mitigate or reducethe impact of such disasters in time. Keeping this reality in mind, Government of Nepal at National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET)’s request declared second day of the month of Magh as National Earthquake Safety Day (ESD), annually in commemoration of the Great Bihar-Nepal Earthquake of 1934.
Activities on the day focus on creating awareness about earthquakes. How to remain safe, safety measures, disaster management and knowledge and technology for earthquake proof constructions.
So every year on 2nd of Magh Nepal celebrates the national Earthquake Safety Day (ESD). It is in fact the culmination of earthquake risk management works implemented in the country in the preceding 12 months, and allows taking stock of the achievements and shortcomings.
NSET has been organising Earthquake Safety Days since 1999 with close cooperation with government organizations, municipalities, I/NGOs and local community. With invitation from NSET, participation from International level in ESD activities has also been very remarkable.
Nepal has a long history of earthquakes. The first documented earthquake event in the country dates back to 7 June 1255, during the reign of King AbhayaMalla. The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, took the life of the king and wiped out a third of Kathmandu’s then population.
Nepal has witnessed at least one major earthquake per century ever since.
The country has experienced a number of devastating earthquakes within living memory such as those in 1934 and 1998. In the 1934 earthquake more than eight thousand people lost their lives with massive destruction of property. The 1988 earthquake claimed 721 lives, mostly in the Eastern Nepal, and property worth millions of rupees were destroyed. The seismic record of Nepal suggests that earthquakes similar in size to the 1934 event occur approximately every 75 years, indicating that a devastating earthquake is inevitable in the long run and likely in the near future.
Dharahara collapsed by the earthquake of 2015
As stated above, the geography of Nepal situates on earthquake prone plates. Thus, the country witness earthquakes frequently. In every 100 to 8 0 year major earthquakes had occurred devastating lives, properties and invaluable cultural heritage.
The Indian plate in the south and the Eurasian plate in the north began to impact a huge number of years back, subsequent to the evaporation of the Tethys ocean in the middle of them. The impact procedure is as yet dynamic, and this crash brought forth the Himalayas, of which Nepal is the most imperative part.
The crash procedure proceeded over the years, and some major and minor flaws were created inside the territory of our nation. The investigation has appeared to significant three issues which are as beneath:
• Main Frontal Thrust (MFT)/Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT)
• Main Boundary Thrust (MBT)
• Main Central Thrust (MCT)
Nepal seismic tremors happen as the aftereffect of push blaming on or close to the primary purpose interface between the subducting India plate and the superseding Eurasia plate toward the north. At the area of the tremor, the Indian plate is combining with Eurasia at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-upper east – a small amount of which (~18 mm/yr) is driving the elevate of the Himalayan mountain go.
History of in Nepal
1255 A.D. (Magnitude 7.8): The earliest fully documented earthquake in Nepal caused extensive destruction, killing an estimated one-third of the Kathmandu Valley’s population, including King AbhayaMalla.
1408 A.D. (Magnitude 8.2): This powerful earthquake destroyed numerous structures, including the Machhendranath temple, and caused significant loss of life.
1833 A.D. (Magnitude 7.7): A strong earthquake struck the Kathmandu Valley, damaging around 18,000 buildings. Interestingly, a low death toll (around 414 in the valley) was attributed to foreshocks that drove people into open spaces before the main tremor.
1934 A.D. (Magnitude 8.0-8.4): Known as the Great Nepal-Bihar earthquake, this was one of the worst natural disasters in the region’s recorded history. It resulted in thousands of deaths (over 8,500 in Nepal alone) and widespread destruction across eastern and central Nepal and northern India. The Dharahara tower in Kathmandu collapsed completely.
1988 A.D. (Magnitude 6.9): This earthquake, with its epicenter near the Nepal-India border, primarily affected the eastern region and resulted in over 1,000 deaths across Nepal and India.
2015 A.D. (Magnitude 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake):
This recent and highly studied event struck near Barpak, Gorkha District, on April 25, followed by a major magnitude 7.3 aftershock on May 12. The mainshock and its aftershocks killed nearly 9,000 people, injured more than 22,000, and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and centuries-old cultural heritage sites.
2023 A.D. (Magnitude 5.6 Jajarkot Earthquake):
On November 3, a moderate but deadly earthquake in the remote western region of Jajarkot killed at least 157 people, primarily due to the collapse of poorly constructed mud and brick houses that are common in rural areas.
