GCSE Earthquakes case study -Nepal LIC

Epicentre

80 km to the northwest of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu

Tourism

A key industry for Nepal, was massively damaged

25th April, 2015

Date of the Nepal Earthquake

$10billion

Estimates of damage by Nepalese government

$2,660 per annum

GNI of Nepal at the time of the quake, a lower middle income country

Amplification

Occurred in Kathmandu as it sits on the Kathmandu Basin, which contains up to 600 m of sedimentary rocks, representing the infilling of a lake.

Dharahara Tower

One of the centuries-old buildings were destroyed at UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley

Unreinforced brick masonry

Type of houses in Nepal that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking

New education initiatives

across Nepal to do earthquake drills as a response to the quake

Collisional boundary

caused the quake where the Indian plate is converging (colliding) with Eurasia at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-northeast, driving the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range

India and China

committed over $1 billion to help support Nepal.

19,009

injured

14%

of homes needed had been built 3 years after the quake

90 percent

of soldiers from the Nepalese army mobilised to worst hit areas, but efforts were hampered by landslides and damaged infrastructure

8,632

official death toll

7.8 to 7.9

on the Richter scale

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)

provided a USD$3 million grant to Nepal for immediate relief efforts; and up to USD$200 million for the first phase of rehabilitation.

Harvests

reduced or lost

Tent cities

sprung up in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal

An avalanche

triggered by the quake on Mount Everest, killed 17 people.