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General background:
The May 25, Mw 7.8 earthquake in the Nepal Himalaya was not a surprise
as it occurred within the eastern segment of the postulated central seismic gap,
considered as a locked segment of the Himalaya, where the Indian and Eurasian
continents are converging at the rate of ~ 18-20 mm/yr (
2000). It is quite well-known that the present-day structure of the Himalaya has
resulted from the progressive underthrusting of the Indian plate, leading to a
stack of thrust sheets that get progressively younger, southward. In this
geometry, the oldest and the northernmost is the Main Central Thrust (MCT),
followed by the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the Main Frontal Thrust
(MFT), all of which sole into the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) (Fig. 1). The
deeper part of the MHT is believed to be creeping smoothly while the shallower
parts slips episodically during great earthquakes such as the 1905 Kangra and
1934 Nepal events.
Fig. 1 : (a) Map showing large and great earthquakes along the Himalayan
arc (modified from Rajendran et.al., 2015). Several of the lower magnitude,
but significant earthquakes in the Jammu and Kashmir region havent been
plotted here(b) Shows the cross-section of the terrain, highlighting the HFT,
MBT and MCT
Fig. 2: Earthquake locations for the Mw 7.8 April 25th event, the Mw 7.3 May
12th event and their corresponding aftershock effects.
Fig. 3: Preliminary moment tensor inversion solution for the Mw 7.8, April 25th,
2015 event. As can be noted from the slip distribution, maximum slip occurs
towards the East of the mainshock. This is consistent with field observations.
The segment between the 1905 and 1934 ruptures has not slipped in a great
earthquake in the historically recorded period and earth scientists had
forecasted that a large earthquake is imminent in this part known as the central
gap. The documented history also suggests of the occurrence of large
earthquakes in eastern Nepal (e.g., 1255, 1833 events etc.) suggesting that there
are other sources other than the MHT, identified as faults that splay off from the
MHT as well as the seismogenic mid crustal ramp structures. It is generally
believed that the 1934-type earthquakes originate on the MHT and the rupture
propagates southward, possibly showing up at the emerging youngest thrust, the
MFT. Such earthquakes are considered more devastating because they are of
magnitude 8 or above and they affect the Indo-Gangetic plains, where the seismic
energy can be amplified and also lead to severe liquefaction and ground failure.
Thus, it is important to map the limits of the southward propagation of the
earthquake ruptures in order to assess their hazard potential.
Fig. 4 : Route map followed by the team during the course of the field work.
Field observations:
1. Intensity surveys:
In order to assess damage due to past earthquakes, that which lack any
instrumental record, intensity surveys are carried out. These surveys involve
researchers systematically noting down accounts of locals who experienced
the effects of the past earthquake and assigning a measure of the damage
based on the MSK/Modified Mercalli scale.
One of the many multi-storeyed buildings that still stand tall in a village
within the Gorkha district of Nepal. The epicentre of the April 25 th quake
lies just ~60 km north of this hamlet. P.C. : Thulasiraman Natarajan
d) Southern Nepali towns show up only as a 5-6 on the MSK scale with a
progressive increase in magnitude towards the north.
A common observation in all the Nepali towns that our team visited was
that old buildings (>30 years old) collapsed either partially or completely.
On inspecting the materials used in construction we found that they were
invariably made of unburnt bricks with mud and cement (rarely) as a
binder. In some cases when cement had been used as a binder, there was
no bonding structure to the brick laying (no interlocking structures)
Several newer buildings also seemed to have collapsed due to ground shaking,
but on closer inspection we found that these buildings were constructed in
phases. For example, the foundation was laid with only a ground floor in mind,
but in the last couple of years higher storeys were added. The result of such poor
planning is that the structural integrity of the ground floor compromised during
the intense shaking following the earthquake, and the higher storeys come
crashing down on the basement. We examined the possibility of liquefaction of
the soft sediments which form the Kathmandu valley, though we observed no
such effects. However, a contemporary report by Geotechnical Extreme Events
Reconnaissance (GEER) has stated that there have been liquefaction events in
Manamaiju, Ramkot, Chagunarayan, Hattiban and Imadol; most of which fall
along the fringes of the Kathmandu Valley (Nepal 2015 April 25 Mw 7.8 Gorkha
Earthquake, GEER, 2015. Further the GEER reports of extensive landslides and
related failure from the northern parts, closer to the Higher Himalayas which our team
could not examine due to issues with logistics. As for the brick buildings, new or
old, poor design seemed to be the single most important factor that controlled
the damage.
Although this building seems perfectly fine from afar, a closer look reveals
that it collapsed over its own ground floor! The white square-inset has been
blown up to show a squished car beneath the structure. Thankfully there
were no casualties here. P.C. : Matthew Wood.
This building is one of the many examples of how a single, poorly-constructed
house can damage adjacent structures. Note the girders used in the
construction of beams and pillars. Inset shows the effect of the quake on the
building and its surroundings. P.C. : Matthew Wood.
The brick-coloured building in the far-left was constructed as per the new
rules established for civil constructions in Nepal. It sustained little damage
during the April quake in comparison to the devastation down the same
alley. P.C. : Matthew Wood.
It is imperative to point out that there was only nominal damage to roads,
bridges, electric poles, concrete culverts etc. The roads that we traversed
did not show any sign of earthquake damage, and even in the hilly towns
electric poles and lines remain intact.
We were inside, at the farther end of the shop, when the shaking began.
We could not move. However we managed to somehow cross the length of
the shop (~2m) and head to the door. We saw the tower sway twice. And
then it collapsed completely in the next 3-5 seconds It killed almost
everyone inside
The once mighty symbols of Nepal now lie in ruins. The ruins of their
iconic Dharara remain painful memories of the deadly quake. Despite
such overwhelming loss, the hardworking and strong-willed citizens are
at work, rebuilding their nation, with amazing resilience.
One of the makeshift houses built by the locals along Balaji Road near
Swayambhunath temple in Kathmandu.
P.C. : Revathy Parameswaran
4. Ground failure
5. Microtremor studies
.
The Seismology and GPS lab team from CEaS, IISc, accompanied by Harsh Lekhak at
the mouth of the Siddababa Cave. P.C. : Matthew Wood
Relief and aid is still pouring into Nepal from various parts of the world.
We saw trucks carrying food, blankets, bricks and construction material
forming a long line at the border. In the affected towns and villages, tents
provided by Indian, Chinese and Japanese agencies had become make
shift homes for refugees and the locals alike. Most people appeared scared
to go back into their houses at night in fear of another large earthquake.
We also met some high-spirited and tough soldiers from the Indian Army,
involved in clearing the debris and rescue operations in Bhaktapur
Part of the team with the Indian Army regiment that was posted in Nepal for
rescue and restoration operations. P.C. : Matthew Wood
Survey team from IISc:
Prof. Kusala Rajendran (Associate Professor at CEaS, IISc)
- kusala@ceas.iisc.ernet.in
Thulasiraman N (Ph.D student at CEaS, IISc)
- thulasiraman@ceas.iisc.ernet.in
Revathy Parameswaran (Ph.D student at CEaS, IISc)
- revathyparameswaran@ceas.iisc.ernet.in
Rishav Mallick (M.Tech student at CEaS, IISc)
- mallickrishg@ceas.iisc.ernet.in
Collaborative participants:
Prof. C.P. Rajendran (Scientist G, NCESS; Faculty, JNCASR)
- cprajendran@gmail.com ; rajendran@jncasr.ac.in
Matthew Peter Wood (Ph.D student at University of Melbourne)
- mwood3@student.unimelb.edu.au
- With inputs from Prof. Kusala Rajendran, Dr C.P. Rajendran and Matthew
Peter Wood.
Acknowledgements:
The post-earthquake survey by the IISc team at Nepal and Northern India
was supported by the Ministry of Earthsciences and the Indian Institute of
Science Bangalore. We acknowledge help from Sunil Kupperi and Harsh
Lekhak at Nepal. Furthermore, we particularly thank Matthew Wood, who is
also a professional photographer, for the vivid shots featured in this report.