Historical Earthquakes in Nepal: Overview

Nepal lies in the central part of Himalaya Range, one of the most seismically active zones in the world. Nepal has a long history of devastating earthquake. The reason behind this is the subduction of Indian plate underneath the Eurasian plate. This subduction causes convergence which is absorbed by convergence across the plate boundary resulting different magnitude earthquake. This article provides a brief overview of the destructive earthquakes that have happened in the past.

1255 A.D. / 1310 B.S. (7.8)

This is the earliest record of an earthquake in Nepal. Many people died in the wreckage of temples and houses. Nearly one-third population of Kathmandu Valley including, the then King, Abhaya Malla, was killed in the earthquake. There were frequent tremors for 15 days. The magnitude is said to be around 7.8 in Richter scale.

1260 A.D. / 1316 B.S. (7.1)

This earthquake occurred during the reign of King Jayadev Malla. Many people were killed, followed by widespread epidemics and famines. Damage has been caused to residential buildings, monumental and architectural heritage.

1408 A.D. / 1463 B.S. (8.2)

It occurred during the rule of King Shyam Singh. The temple of Machhendranath, and many other temples and houses were destroyed. The land was split wide open, causing a heavy loss of lives and property.

1681 A.D. / 1737 B.S. (8.0)

This earthquake destroyed many buildings. The King of the time was Sri Niwas Malla.

1810 A.D. / 1866 B.S.

This earthquake occurred during the reign of King Grivan Yudhha Bikram Shah. Houses were destroyed and some lives lost. It is believed to have 21 tremors that day.

1823 A.D. / 1880 B.S.

There was no reported loss of human life or livestock, but 17 moderate shocks were felt in the Kathmandu Valley.

1833 A.D. / 1890 B.S. (M_s 8.0)

On Monday, 28^th August, 1833, Kathmandu valley was hit by a strong earthquake at 6 pm, earthquake lasted for 40 seconds, followed by a tremor of equal intensity at 11 pm. The event was followed by 23 shocks during the night. Aftershocks were felt for some days. Many houses, mansions and temple were destroyed. The recently built temple of Jagannath, built 35 years before the event, which was 100 feet tall was totally destroyed. The tower of Dharahara was severely damaged.

The tremors were felt up to Kuti in the north, Makwanpur in the south, Bijayapur in the east, and Gorakhpur in the west. In Kathmandu valley most destruction was done at Bhaktapur and Thimi. It was estimated that 18,000 houses were destroyed in the country, 4,214 of which were in the three cities of the Kathmandu Valley.

1934 A.D. / 1990 B.S.(M_w 8.1)

The Great Nepal-Bihar earthquake of 1990 B.S. is one the worst earthquake in the history of Nepal. This earthquake occurred on 15^th January, 1934 at 2:24:22 pm NST. The epicenter for this event was located in eastern Nepal about 9.5 km (5.9 mi) south of Mount Everest.

The earthquake had a significant effect on both life and property. Thousands of people were trapped in the debris and died untimely, and thousands of others were injured. A total of 8,519 people died including two of the then King’s daughter (10 and 8 years old) due to the earthquake. Both the Dharahara Tower and the clock tower fall into pieces. Cracks emerged in the fields and on the roads on which water began to rise. It was said that in some areas hot water and sand came out of the cracks in the ground. On the roads of Balaju and near Sankhamul, the ground subsided for 2 to 3 feet. There were very few roads without cracks in the valley. Life line including electricity, Birgunj-Raxaul railway, transportation, and ropeway were all disturbed.

Table: The Death Toll

Summary	Male	Female	Total
The Valley	1952	2344	4296
Eastern Hills	1792	2182	3974
Western Hills	29	36	65
The Terai (East)	77	107	184
The Terai (West)	–	–	–
Total	3850	4669	8519

Table: The Material Loss

Summary	No. of houses completely damaged	Much damaged	Less damaged	Total	Temples, Public shelters*
Kathmandu Valley	12397	25658	17684	55739	492
The Hills	64742	73253	1266	139261	–
The Terai	3754	5610	2884	12248	–
Grand Total	80893	104521	21834	207248	492

Source: The Great Earthquake in Nepal 1934 A.D. by Brahma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana.

1980 A.D. / 2037 B.S. (M_s 6.5)

The M6.5 earthquakes affected mostly the far western portion of Nepal mainly Baitadhi, Bajhang and Darchula. 125 people lost their lives, 248 were seriously injured. 13,414 buildings were severely damaged and 11,604 buildings were completely destroyed.

1988 A.D. / 2045 B.S. (M 6.9)

This is also called Udaipur Earthquake, occurred on August 21, 1988, at 4:54 a.m. NST, with M6.9 affected mostly the eastern region of the country (22 district of eastern region) and some part of the central region. Earthquake resulted in 721 deaths, 6553 serious injuries, and damages in 64174 private buildings, 468 public houses, and 790 government buildings. It was estimated to have a direct loss of 5 billion rupees.

2011 A.D. / 2068 B.S. (M 6.9)

The M6.9 earthquake, occurred on September 18, 2011, at 6:25 p.m. NST, with the epicenter near the border of Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim. As reported by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal, six deaths and 30 injuries were recorded in Nepal. Out of six deaths, two were in the Kathmandu valley and the other deaths were in eastern mountains, where building collapse and severe damage was dominant. As many as 12,301 people from 4851 families were reported to be displaced due to this earthquake. In total, 6,435 buildings collapsed, 11,520 were moderately damaged, and 3,024 buildings sustained minor damage in Nepal.

2015 A.D. / 2072 B.S. (M_w 7.8)

The Gorkha earthquake occurred on 25 April 2015, roughly 80 km N-NE of Kathmandu. The epicenter was in the village of Barpak in the Gorkha district, and the damage was concentrated mostly to the east of the epicenter. The main shock of April 25, 2015 (MW 7.8) was followed by a strong aftershock of magnitude 6.7 on the same day. In addition, on 26 April 2015, another strong aftershock of magnitude 6.9 hit central Nepal and the strongest aftershock (MW 7.3) of the Gorkha seismic sequence was reported on 12 May 2015. Damage due to the Gorkha earthquake was related to these four major earthquakes in central Nepal, which resulted in 8856 deaths, 22,309 injuries and affected 8 million people in 31 out of 75 districts in Nepal. The Gorkha earthquake caused damage to buildings and lifelines, such as road networks, hydropower projects and water supply systems. The Post-Disaster Need Assessment undertaken by the National Planning Commission of Nepal reported that the overall loss due to the Gorkha earthquake was $7 billion (USD; NPC, 2015). Fourteen out of 75 districts in Nepal were declared a crisis hit zone by the government immediately after the earthquake.

Source: Revisiting Major Historical Earthquakes in Nepal: Overview of 1833, 1934, 1980, 1988, 2011, and 2015 Seismic Events.

A useful video explaining science behind devastating Nepal earthquake.

Sources:

• Nepal ko Mahabhukampa 1990 By Brahma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
• Lecture slides by Dr. Rishi Ram Prajuli
• Gorkha Earthquake2015: Cause and Effect by Dr. Basanta Raj Adhikari
• Revisiting Major Historical Earthquakes in Nepal: Overview of 1833, 1934, 1980, 1988, 2011, and 2015 Seismic Events. By Hemchandra Chaulagain1, Dipendra Gautam2 and Hugo Rodrigues3