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    Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake
    Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake
    Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake
    Ebook327 pages3 hours

    Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake

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    About this ebook

    Impacts and Insights of Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal offers a practical perspective on disaster risk management using lessons learned and considerations from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal, which was the worst disaster to hit Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. Using a holistic approach to examine seismicity, risk perception and intervention, the book serves as a detailed case study to improve disaster resilience globally, including social, technical, governmental and institutional risk perception, as well as scientific understanding of earthquake disasters. Covering the details of the Gorkha earthquake, including damage mapping and recovery tactics, the book offers valuable insights into ways forward for seismologists, earthquake researchers and engineers and policy-makers.

    • Includes the latest status of seismic risk, risk perception, to-date interventions and historical scenarios in Nepal
    • Examines details of Gorkha earthquake, including geo-seismicity, damage statistics, casualties, effect on cultural heritage, gender-risk mechanics, case studies of social institutions, urban-risk mechanics, rural-risk mechanics, resilience dimensions, social institutions in risk management, stories of resilience and failures and a critical review of efficacy of interventions in risk mitigation
    • Offers future insights and ways forward in terms of risk reduction studies, socio-cultural dimensions of risk management, scientific intervention and policy making, implementation of existing frameworks and endorsement of resilient practices for Nepal
    • Includes damage mapping in all affected areas
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherElsevier Science
    Release dateSep 12, 2017
    ISBN9780128128091
    Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake

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    • 5/5
      "Impacts and Insights of Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal" stands as a crucial and enlightening resource in the realm of disaster risk management. Through a practical lens, the book leverages the profound lessons learned from the devastating 2015 Gorkha earthquake, which marked a seismic shift in Nepal's socio-cultural, governmental, and institutional landscape. Its holistic approach, encompassing seismicity, risk perception, and intervention strategies, makes it a standout case study for disaster resilience globally. Beyond the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, the book meticulously examines damage mapping, recovery tactics, and the intricacies of risk mechanics in urban and rural settings, providing a well-rounded understanding of the disaster's multifaceted impact.

      The book's significance extends beyond the field of seismology, engaging a diverse audience of researchers, engineers, policymakers, and those interested in societal resilience. By offering critical insights into the efficacy of interventions in risk mitigation and endorsing resilient practices, it not only informs current practices but also shapes the trajectory of future disaster management strategies. In this way, "Impacts and Insights of Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal" is not merely a retrospective analysis but a forward-looking guide that advocates for proactive measures and resilient frameworks on a global scale.

    Book preview

    Impacts and Insights of the Gorkha Earthquake - Dipendra Gautam

    Nepal

    Chapter 1

    Revisiting Major Historical Earthquakes in Nepal

    Overview of 1833, 1934, 1980, 1988, 2011, and 2015 Seismic Events

    Hemchandra Chaulagain¹, Dipendra Gautam² and Hugo Rodrigues³,    ¹School of Engineering, Pokhara University, Pokhara Lekhnath, Nepal,    ²University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy,    ³RISCO Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Abstract

    Due to its location in the region of interaction between the Indian and Eurasian plates, several earthquakes hit Nepal each year. These shaking events, from weak to strong, characterize Himalayan earthquakes, and major events in the past caused enormous losses in terms of casualties, injuries, biodiversity, and the country’s economy. Due to lack of proper accounts related to the occurrence, damage, and losses of past earthquakes, few accounts of the 20th century earthquakes can be found in existing literature; and comparative analysis of these earthquakes has not been done. To fill this hiatus of detailed accounts and interpretation of notable earthquakes in Nepal, this chapter offers classified damage statistics, losses, and the impact on the socioeconomic setting of the affected areas. In addition, it presents the damage to gender, rural, and urban populations along with brief details of known earthquakes since 19th century.

    Keywords

    Historical earthquakes; earthquake damage; socioeconomic impact; damage mapping

    1.1 Introduction

    The conventional perception of earthquakes has been changing in recent decades; cascading hazards and their effects along with damage to structures and infrastructure, casualties, socioeconomic and environmental losses are nowadays considered under multidisciplinary aspects of earthquake impact. In fact, the societal impacts of earthquakes are interlinked and deserve to be dealt under a multidisciplinary approach. For instance, the famine following the 1260 earthquake in Nepal is believed to be the major cause of casualties rather than the earthquake itself (BCDP, 1994). As earthquake damage and its multifaceted effects differ from community to community, historical accounts and real-time data and interpretation are the backbone for predictive models as well preparedness initiatives. Studies regarding earthquakes in Nepal started mainly after the 1988 earthquake in eastern Nepal; however, multidisciplinary interpretations related to earthquakes cannot be found in existing literature. Moreover, earthquake loss estimation and development of predictive models in local scale are limited in Nepal. Chaulagain et al. (2016) depicted earthquake loss estimation for Kathmandu valley; and other areas in Nepal still have not been investigated, so that prediction of economic losses, casualties, injuries, and building damage is not possible. Loss estimation models developed for some regions of the world may not adequately represent the scenario of the other parts of the world, hence, real-time losses are required to validate such models for local losses. Historical earthquake records play a vital role in risk reduction, as such a database is free from biases found in predictive models. To this end, a detailed account of historical earthquakes can be used as a basic tool for risk reduction initiatives as well to develop countermeasures based on lessons of the past events. Detailed accounts of major earthquakes in Nepal considering economic losses, impact on fatality by gender, structural and infrastructural damage, urban and rural damage do not exist to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Therefore, this chapter aims to fill the gap of multidisciplinary interpretation and comparisons between the notable earthquakes that struck Nepal Himalaya since the 19th century. It presents an overview of earthquakes greater than magnitude 6.5 from 1833, 1934, 1980, 1988, 2011, and 2015 to highlight the dynamics of earthquake damage and to present some insights in the case of future seismic events.

    1.2 Historic Earthquakes in Nepal

    Due to the continuous convergence of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate, the entire area of Hindu-Kush-Himalaya (HKH) is hit by strong to major earthquakes frequently. As Nepal is centrally located in the HKH, hundreds of earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4 occur every year. Most of such earthquakes in Nepal Himalaya are limited to magnitude 4–6, and damage usually does not occur within this range of magnitude. It is interesting to note that only earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or above are known to cause damage in Nepal, however, it should be realized that earthquake damage is not solely attributable to magnitude rather than energy release, period of shaking, focal depth, vulnerability of building stocks, and many other factors that directly influence damage during earthquakes. Based on records of earthquakes since 1911, the frequency of earthquakes in Nepal Himalaya with the return period of each category as depicted by BCDP (1994) along with recent records since 1994 are presented in Table 1.1.

    Table 1.1

    Earthquakes in Nepal Since 1911

    Source: Modified from Building Code Development Project (BCDP), 1994. Seismic Hazard Mapping and Risk Assessment for Nepal; UNDP/UNCHS (Habitat) Subproject: NEP/88/054/21.03 Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Housing and Physical, Planning, Government of Nepal; National Seismological Center (NSC), 2016. (last accessed 30.04.17.).

    The Building Code Development Project (BCDP, 1994) highlighted that the history of known earthquakes in Nepal dates to 1255, which claimed one third of the Kathmandu valley population including the then King Abhay Malla. The intensity of 1255 earthquake in Kathmandu valley was assigned as ~X in Modified Mercalli Scale. Accounts of damage outside the Kathmandu valley for the 1255 earthquake is not available; hence, a detailed damage scenario cannot be presented. After 1255, some records of earthquakes in the 13th, 15th, 17th, and 18th centuries were also outlined by the Building Code Development Project (BCDP, 1994). The most important seismic events in Nepal since 1255 and their impacts are outlined in Table 1.2.

    Table 1.2

    Historical Earthquakes in Nepal Between 1255 and 2015

    Source: Modified from Building Code Development Project (BCDP), 1994. Seismic Hazard Mapping and Risk Assessment for Nepal; UNDP/UNCHS (Habitat) Subproject: NEP/88/054/21.03 Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Housing and Physical, Planning, Government of Nepal; Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) Nepal, 2011. <http://drrportal.gov.np/> (last accessed 15.04.17.); National Planning Commission (NPC), 2015. Post-Disaster Need Assessment, vols. A and B. Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.; Gautam, D., Chaulagain, H., 2016. Structural performance and associated lessons to be learned from world earthquakes in Nepal after 25 April 2015 (MW 7.8) Gorkha earthquake. Eng. Fail. Anal. 68, 222–243.

    Apart from the reported major events, the aftershock activities are not highlighted in most of the available descriptions of the historical earthquakes in Nepal. Rana (1935) noted that three preshocks occurred on January 14, 1934, and 28 aftershocks including some strong ones followed the main shock within six days after January 15. Description of aftershock activities after January 20, 1934, cannot be found, neither can we find any description related to damage attributed to aftershocks. Due to lack of instrumentation in Nepal, most of the earthquake magnitude, damage, and intensity of distribution are inferred from the descriptions that exist in epigraph or books. Two of the notable earthquakes from 2011 and 2015 were recorded by instruments installed in the Kathmandu valley and the aftershock activities of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake are also well documented by the National Seismological Center, Nepal (for details see http://www.seismonepal.gov.np/). The main shock of the 2015 Gorkha seismic sequence was followed by 480 aftershocks of local magnitude equal to or greater than 4; and some of the aftershocks, like those of April 25, 2015 (MW 6.7), April 26, 2015 (MW 6.9), and May 12, 2015 (MW 7.3), aggravated the damage throughout the affected areas. Detailed analysis of seismicity and aftershock activities following the main shock of April 25, 2015 (MW 7.8), can be found in Chapter 2, Seismotectonic and Engineering Seismological Aspects of the MW 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, Earthquake, by Rajesh Rupakhety.

    1.3 Revisiting Strong to Major Earthquakes in Nepal

    1.3.1 1833 Earthquake

    On August 26, 1833, a strong earthquake struck Nepal and the northern part of India. The magnitude of the earthquake was estimated as between 7.5 and 7.9 (7.5 < MW < 7.9) and the effect of the earthquake was felt within 1 million sq. km (Bilham, 1995). As reported by Bilham (1995), the main shock was preceded by two strong foreshocks five hours earlier. Per the Building Code Development Project (1994), almost 18,000 buildings were damaged in Nepal, of which almost 4,000 were within the Kathmandu valley, including hundreds of heritage structures. In total 414 fatalities were reported in the Kathmandu valley (BCDP, 1994) and cascading effects, like rockfalls and earthquake-triggered landslides, were believed to occur after the earthquake. Bilham (1995) reported that most of the people would have chosen open spaces immediately after the strong foreshocks, which resulted in relatively low fatalities, although 30% or more buildings were believed to have collapsed. Probably, choice of open spaces was also supported by folklore, because most of the people in Nepal believe that the earthquake is a reversible phenomenon and the strong shaking should be followed by another strong shaking in the reverse direction. The areas affected in Nepal by 1833 earthquake along with tentative building damage equivalent intensity are presented in Table

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