Earthquake in Nepal and Its Aftermath Essay

Earthquakes are the shaking of the rocks of the earth's surface. Around the world, earthquakes have occurred in areas with the weaknesses such as the rifted zones, including the rift valley and along the faults of Fault Mountains. Whenever they happen, they are quite devastating, leading to the destruction of the infrastructural features such as the roads, school buildings, railway lines and electric lines. They also lead to mass murder where the earth sinking buries many people while others are left wounded with the destroyed farms and lost relatives. They thus leave many people without food and the all needed social amenities such as the hospitals, schools, and roads. In the case of Nepal, the devastating earthquake took place on the date 25th April 2015. IT had a depth of a region of 16 kilometers which is in most cases damaging due to it being shallow. Its epicenter was about 35 kilometers to the southeastern part of an area known as Lamjung and lasted for about fifty seconds. The United States Geological Survey initially established the magnitude of the earthquake as being at 7.5 magnitudes which quickly rose to 7.8 magnitude readings by the China Meteorological Networks Center, which also later reported the magnitude of the earthquake as 8.1 magnitudes. Besides, the study of the earthquake carried out an Indian firm; The India Meteorological Department; reported that two powerful earthquakes were registered in Nepal (Yuyutsu, R D. 76). The first one measured at 7.8 magnitudes with its epicenter being estimated at approximately 80 kilometers from the surface to the northwestern part of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. The second earthquake was reported to have a region of 6.6 magnitudes, less potent than the first one. It took place 40 miles to the east of Kathmandu with its seismic focus at a depth of 11 kilometers from the surface. During a day that followed the occurrences of the earthquake, more than thirty-eight cases of aftershocks were registered, with a magnitude of 4.5 magnitudes. Also, there was a reported case of an aftershock with 6.8 magnitudes by measure.

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By the United States Geological Survey, the Nepal earthquake occurred to have been caused by a sudden release of bent up and built-in stress energy. It resulted in a sudden thrust, which occurred along a major fault line in which the Indian Plate in which India is part, was slowly and gradually diving to the underneath towards the surface of the earth of the Eurasian Plate. It carried much of Asia and Europe. Kathmandu which is located on a block of crust with an approximate of 74 miles by width and 37 miles in length, shifted by 3 meters to the southern direction. It took about 30 seconds to move.

It appeared that the massive earthquake occurring in Nepal had earlier on been established, The geologists had predicted that their calculations had shown accumulated energy which was sufficient to cause an eight magnitude of the earthquake. However, the exact period of the advent was not precisely established, but the geologists noted that it could be sometime in the century. It is evident that Nepal lies to the southern part of the diffuse collisional boundary in which the Indian Plate tends to underthrust the Eurasian Plate. It occupies the central quota of the Himalayas mountain range arc, a stretch of about 1,500 kilometers of the 2,400 kilometers range of the Himalayas (Sapkota, Soma N, Paul Tapponnier, et al. 24). It lies in a region with a convergence rate of 45 millimeters per year. Earthquakes in Nepal are majorly caused by the main frontal thrust along the tectonic plates namely the Indian Plate and the Eurasian plates. The effects of the earthquakes in Nepal were amplified in the Kathmandu region which sits on the basin of Kathmandu that contains about 2,000 feet of sedimentary rocks which represents the infilling of the lake. In east Nepal region, a study has revealed that on average earthquakes occur after every 750+ 140 years. Further, the 1934 and the 2015 earthquakes are interconnected because of the built up of energy, according to the study.

As per the United States Geological Survey data, the maximum intensity of the Nepal earthquake was VIII, which is severe. Further, most of the intensity of the earthquake in Nepal was at VI, while ch is evidenced by the numerous water towers which got under damaged, which in turn were installed on the tops of undamaged multi-story buildings. There were earth tremors felt in the regions of the neighboring states of India which are Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and even in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. The earthquakes in Nepal also extended to other regions with the tremors being felt in southwestern China, in Tibet Autonomous region to as far as Chengdu 1,200 miles away from the epicenter. There were also earth tremors in Bhutan and Pakistan.

There were a series of aftershocks which began immediately following the mainstream shock waves, at the reported intervals of 15 - 30 minutes. One of the aftershocks reached 6.6 magnitudes. A significant aftershock of 6.9 in magnitudes occurred in the same region, with its epicenter at 11 miles to the southern part of Kodari. It caused avalanches on Mount Everest with it being felt in many places to the northern parts of India such as the Kolkata, Assam, and Siliguri. It also created the notable landslides in Koshi Highway that saw a section of the road blocked between Mulghat and Bhedetar. The fault had an 11 dip towards the northern direction, with the dimensions of 31 miles long, 91 miles wide and 9.8 feet dip slip. The aftershock also registered a depth of 6.2 miles characterizing its destructive nature caused by shallowness.

There were disastrous events which came as a result of the earthquake in Nepal, which coupled with its poor political landscape of the state led to a series of adversely unbecoming events. One disaster happened to feed another one leading to what is termed a vicious circle. Their effects were felt in such subunits as labor cost and their availability, urbanization, human trafficking, mental health of the citizens, tourism, damage to the healthcare systems, diseases, politics of the country, public and private debt burdens, and rental property cost burdens. The direct effects which culminated from the earthquake and its aftershocks in Nepal include the disasters that came in the monsoon season. There was also a slip of the land on June 11 in which 53 people died. Solukhumbhu district which was hard hit by the earthquake had its glacial lake bursting. There were also reported casualties from the quake. The quake in Nepal killed more than 8,800 people. Also, more than 25, 000 people were injured (Wang, Weimin, et al. 56). They constitute the reported casualties. Almost 3.5 million people in Nepal were left without places of residence, showing the bitter height of the earthquake's destructive nature. In Kathmandu, the quake occurred on a Saturday when the school children were at a break. Hence they were lucky. Otherwise, the estimate of a factor of 2.5 more deaths could have been registered had the children been in the collapsing school buildings caused by the deadly earthquakes. Also, the quake caused avalanches in Mount Everest where at least 13 people died and more than 120 other people sustaining injuries.

Further, there were landslides in Langtang valley which is located in Langtang National Park. 329 people were reported to be missing following the avalanche which hit the Ghodatabela village as well as the village of Lang Tang. The avalanche was 2 -3 kilometers by width and also buried smaller settlements such as the Mundu, Chyamki, and Thangsyap. In the event of the process, two foreigner and twelve locals managed to escape unhurt. Several thousands of houses got destroyed in Nepal as a result of the earthquakes, with the villages near the epicenter getting flattened. It led to the immediate closure of Tribhuvan International Airport which serves Kathmandu. It occasionally shut down its operations following the aftershocks. The airport facilities got damaged with the normal running water drying out. Further, churches in Kathmandu valley got damaged, and 500 people died on the spot since Saturday is the day of worship in Nepal (Galetzka, John, et al. 34). Also, temples in Kathmandu Durbar Square got destroyed and collapsed, too. Further, there were concerns that the harvests were going to reduce following the earthquakes which destroyed many firms.

Conclusion

Cumulatively, the earthquakes in Nepal which occurred on25th April 2015 had far-reaching consequences that paralyzed most facets of the country's mainstream dependable. They include the destruction of property, places of residence, food stocks, economy, political landscape and breeding of widows, orphans, and the widowers. It was thus a destructive happening.

Works cited

Galetzka, John, et al. "Slip pulse and resonance of the Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal." Science 349.6252 (2015): 1091-1095.

Sapkota, Soma N, Paul Tapponnier, and Yann Klinger. Surface Rupture of 1934 Bihar-Nepal Earthquake: Implications for Seismic Hazard in Nepal Himalaya. S.l.: s.n., 2011. Print.

Wang, Weimin, et al. "Rupture process of the Mw7. 9 Nepal earthquake April 25, 2015." Science China Earth Sciences58.10 (2015): 1895-1900.

Yuyutsu, R D. Quaking Cantos: Nepal Earthquake Poems. , 2016. Print.