M7.8 NEPAL on April 25th 2015 at 06:11 UTC

Last update: 25 June 2015 at 06:59 UTC

Earthquake details | Aftershocks locations | Intensity map | Quick map of the felt area
Comments posted by the witnesses | Send us pictures or videos | Epicenter location

EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION DOES NOT EXIST ! We have heard about rumors in Nepal that there has been some earthquake prediction. THIS IS NOT TRUE. There is no earthquake prediction today, it does not exist. Scientists are able in some cases to identify what is called seismic hot spots. Hot spots are areas where a large earthquake can be expected in time period ranging from tens to hundreds of years. But science is unable to predict when an earthquake will strike. Well known hot spots are for example, Istanbul, Tokyo or Los Angeles.

 

M7.8 earthquake of April 25^th

A very powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit Nepal on Saturday April 25^th, 2015 at 06:11 UTC (11:56 Nepalese time). More information on the main shock is available here. The epicentre was located 80 north-west of Kathmandu. 

The earthquake caused major damage in Kathmandu and in surrounding cities. The death toll exceeds 8,000 victims.

Many buildings in the region have been destroyed, including a number of centuries-old temples. A number of landslides have also been reported in the area and the earthquake also triggered a "huge avalanche" on Mount Everest, which killed at least 17 people at it's base camp.

The shake has been felt all over Nepal, India and Bangladesh as far as Kerala, India, more than 2,200 km away.

Read more:

- What caused the earthquake in Nepal ?

- IRIS Teachable Moments

 

M7.3 earthquake of May 12^th

On May 12^th at 07:05 UTC (12:50 Nepal time) a M7.3 earthquake occurred at the eastern end of the rupture zone that caused the M7.8 of April 25^th. This powerful earthquake made 66 victims and more than 1,000 injured.

More info about this earthquake here : http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=441545

 

Comparison between April 25^th and May 12^th earthquakes

• Preliminary source study provided by CEA/DASE/LDG (Bruyères-le-Châtel, France):

18 teleseismic good quality GSN broadband waveforms are retrieved from IRIS servers and processed with the patch method (Vallee et al. 2004). For frequencies lower than 6 seconds, one patch of slip is sufficient to ensure a good fit between data (in black) and synthetics (in red) for both P waves (outer red ring) and SH waves (inner yellow ring).

The found fault plane is very similar to that of Mw7.8 25 April earthquake, with a bilateral rupture which extends in both South-East and North-West directions. The maximum amount  of slip on the fault is about 2 meters and horizontal extension is about 60km. These results are preliminary, further work is needed to confirm these fast estimated fault parameters.

 

• Moment tensors solutions

M7.8 of April 25th	M7.3 of May 12th

 

Aftershocks locations

The aftershock distribution shows a ruptures zones which starts from the main shock and extends approx. 150 km to the south-east (Figures 1 and 2).

Two of these aftershocks are of magnitude 6.7. The first occurred 34 minutes after the first shock and very close to it. The second occurred 25 hours after the main shock and 135 km away, at the other end of the rupture zone (Figures 1 and 2).

 

Figure 1: Aftershocks geographic distribution	Figure 2: Aftershocks and population density
Figure 3: Aftershocks time distribution	Figure 4: Aftershocks rate

 

Internet Earthquake Detection and map of the felt area

M7.8 of April 25th	M7.3 of May 12th

When an earthquake is felt by the population, the eye-witnesses rush on the internet to find out the cause of the shaking. When they reach EMSC website, we automatically detect the surge of traffic, locate the eye-witnesses thanks to their IP adress and map the area where the earthquake was felt.

 

Intensity maps

(generated with the results of the online questionnaire)

M7.8 of April 25th	M7.3 of May 12th

 

M7.8 of April 25^th testimonies posted by the witnesses

You can click on the map' icons to view specific information.

 

Pictures or videos of damage

You were on the spot and you have taken photos or videos of earthquake effects (on buildings, ground, landscape), please send us your files. Send them by mail or upload them directly from your computer. Just click on the link below :

Send us pictures or videos of the main shock effects. After validation your files will be displayed on this page.

 

• Pictures provided by the eye-witnesses for the M7.8 earthquake of April 25^th: