Geomorphic impacts of the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal: Preliminary assessments

Monique Fort (1)

1 PRODIG - Pôle de recherche pour l'organisation et la diffusion de l'information géographique

A magnitude Mw 7.8 earthquake struck Central Nepal on April 25, 2015 at 11:41 am (local Fme), followed by another Mw 7.4 one on May 10, 2014 at 12:30 pm (local Fme). The first rupture took place along the Main Frontal Thrust, a main structure interface between Indian and Eurasian plates: it has occurred at a depth varying from 10 km (USGS) to 29 km (Geoscope) corresponding to a relative slip of 4‐5 m. It was a forseeable disaster, with continuous seismic monitoring (Seismology Laboratory of Kathmandu) and preparedness actions such as infrastructure strengthening, development of early warning systems, plans for evacuation and recovery (thanks to the NSET NGO). Still it was very damageous.

Mots clés: Nepal; Earthquake; Geomorphic impact; Rock avalanches; Snow avalanches; Everest; Nepal Himalaya

Domaines: Géomorphologie

Monique Fort. Geomorphic impacts of the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal: Preliminary assessments. 5th National Meeting of the Italian Association of Physical Geography and Geomorphology: " Geomorphology for Society from risk knowledge to landscape heritage", Sep 2015, Cagliari, Italy. ⟨hal-01373154⟩