What is Earthquake Essay

An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the streticuloendothelial systems on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earths rancour and cause the shaking that we feel.( readanddigest.com/what-is-an-earthquake) The April 2015 Nepal earthquake ( similarly known as the Gorkha earthquake)69 killed more than 8,800 bulk and injured more than 23,000. It occurred at 1156 NST on 25 April, with a magnitude of 7.8Mw1 or 8.1Ms2 and a maximum Mercalli fanaticism of IX (Violent). Its epicenter was east of the district of Lamjung, and its hypocenter was at a depth of approximately 15 km (9.3 mi).1 It was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 NepalBihar earthquake.101112 The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19,13 making April 25, 2015 the deadliest day on the mountain in history.14The earthquake triggered anformer(a) huge avalanche in the Langtang valley, where 250 people were reported missing.1516 Hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless with entire villages flattened,151718 across many districts of the country. Centuries-old buildings were undo at UNESCO World heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley, including some at the Kathmandu Durbar Square, the Patan Durbar Squar, the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the Changu Narayan Temple and the Swayambhunath Stupa. Geophysicists and other experts had warned for decades that Nepal was vulnerable to a deadly earthquake, particularly because of its geology, urbanization, and architecture.1920 21A major aftershock occurred on 12 May 2015 at 1251 NST with a mowork forcet magnitude (Mw) of 7.3.22 The epicenter was near the Chinese border amid the capital of Kathmandu and Mt. Everest.23 More than 200 people were killed and more than 2,500 were injured by this aftershock GeologyM6+ Himalayan vicinity earthquakes, 19002014Nepal lies towards the southern limit of the diffuse collisional boundary where the Indian Plate underthrusts the Eurasian Plate,3132 occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one-third of the 2,400 km(1,500 mi) yearn Himalayas. Geologically, the Nepal Himalayas are sub-divided into five tectonic zones from north to south, east to west and almost parallel to sub-parallel.33 These five distinct morpho-geotectonic zones are (1) Terai Plain, (2) Sub Himalaya (Sivalik Range), (3) Lesser Himalaya (Mahabharat Range and mid valleys), (4) high Himalaya, and (5) Inner Himalaya (Tibetan Tethys).34 Each of these zones is clearly identified by their morphological, geological, and tectonic features.34 The convergence rate among the plates in central Nepal is about 45 mm (1.8 in) per year.The location, magnitude, and focal mechanism of the earthquake suggest that it was caused by a slip along the Main Frontal Thrust.135 The earthquakes effects wer e amplified in Kathmandu as it sits on the Kathmandu Basin, which contains up to 600 m (2,000 ft) of sedimentary rocks, representing the infilling of a lake.36 Based on a make published in 2014, of the Main Frontal Thrust, on average a great earthquake occurs all 750140 and 870350years in the east Nepal region.37 A study from 2015 found a 700-year delay between earthquakes in the region. The study also suggests that because of tectonic stress buildup, the earthquake from 1934 in Nepal and the 2015 quake are connected, pursuit a historic earthquake pattern.38IntensityIsoseismal map for the Gorkha earthquake annotated with values on the Mercalli scale tally to Did You Feel It? (DYFI?) responses on the USGS website, the intensity in Kathmandu was IX (Violent).1 Tremors were felt in the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Gujarat 39better source needed in the subject area capital region around New Delhi40 11 June 20 15, 311 aftershocks had occurred with distinguishable epicenters and magnitudes equal to or above 4 Mw and more than 20,000 aftershocks less than 4 Mw.6AftermathDisastrous sluicets in very poor and politically paralyzed nations such as Nepal often become a long drawn out chain of events, in that one disaster feeds into another for years or even decades upon end.CasualtiesNepalThe earthquake killed more than 8,600 in Nepal783 and injured more than twice as many. The rural death buzzer may have been lower than it would have been as the villagers were outdoors, working when the quake hit.84 As of 15 May, 6,271 people, including 1,700 from the 12 May aftershock, were still receiving treatment for their injuries.54 More than 450,000 people were displaced.57IndiaA total of 78 deaths were reported inChina25 dead and 4 missing, all from the Tibet Autonomous Region.59Bangladesh4 dead.60Avalanches on Mount EverestThis earthquake caused avalanches on Mount Everest. At least 1986 died, inclu ding Google executive Dan Fredinburg,87 with at least 12086 others injured or missing. traumaThe Dharahara towerBefore the earthquakeAfter the earthquakeThousands of houses were destroyed across many districts of the country, with entire villages flattened, peculiarly those near the epicenter Kathmandu Durbar SquareBefore the earthquakeAfter the earthquakeBuilding wrongfulness as a result of the earthquakeSeveral pagodas on Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, collapsed,26 as did the Dharahara tower, built in 1832 the collapse of the latter structure killed at least 180 people,101102103104 The lift of the Jaya Bageshwari Temple in Gaushala and some parts of the Pashupatinath Temple, Swyambhunath, Boudhanath Stupa, Ratna Mandir, insideRani Pokhari, and Durbar High School have been destroyed.108 In Patan, the Char Narayan Mandir, the statue of Yog Narendra Malla, a pati inside Patan Durbar Square, the Taleju Temple, the Hari Shankar, Uma Maheshwar Temple and the E conomic lossRoad damage in NepalConcern was expressed that harvests could be reduced or lost this season as people unnatural by the earthquake would have only a short time to plant crops before the incursion of the Monsoon rains.109 Nepal, with a total Gross Domestic Product of USD$19.921 billion (according to a 2012 estimate),110 is one of Asias poorest countries, and has light ability to fund a major reconstruction effort on its own.111Rajiv Biswas, an economist at a Colorado-based consultancy, s incite that rebuilding the economy will need outside(a) effort over the next some years as it could easily exceed USD$5 billion, or about 20 percent of Nepals gross domestic product.111112not in citation givenRescue and recessNepal Army and Turkish disaster relief instigate workers working together About 90 percent of soldiers from the Nepalese Army were sent to the impaired areas in the aftermath of the earthquake under Operation Sankat Mochan, with volunteers mobilized from othe r parts of the country.117 Survivors were found up to a week after the earthquake.119120121 As of 1 May 2015update, international aid agencies like Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders) and the Red Cross were able to start medically evacuating the critically wounded by helicopter from far areas, initially cut-off from the capital city, Kathmandu,17 and treating others in mobile and makeshift facilities.122123 There was concern about epidemics due to the shortage of clean water, the makeshift nature of living conditions and the lack of toilets.124 Emergency workers were able to identify four men who had been trapped in rubble, and rescue them, development advanced heartbeat detection.The four men were trapped in up to ten feet of rubble in the village of Chautara, north of Kathmandu. An international teamof rescuers from several countries using FINDER devices found two sets of men under two different collapsed buildings.125 Volunteers used crisis mapping to serve plan emergency aid work.126 Public volunteers from around the world added details into online maps.127128129 Information was mapped from data input signal from social media, satellite pictures130 and drones126 of passable roads, collapsed houses, stranded, shelterless and starving people, who needed help, and from messages and contact details of people willing to help.131on-site volunteers verified these mapping details wherever they could to reduce errors. First responders, from Nepali citizens to the Red Cross, the Nepal army and the coupled Nations used this data. The Nepal earthquake crisis mapping utilized experience gained and lessons learned about planning emergency aid work from earthquakes in Haiti and Indonesia.132 Reports are also coming in of sub-standard relief materials and inedible food cosmos sent to Nepal by many of the foreign aid agencies.133134 A unite States Marine helicopter crashed on 12 May while involved in delivering relief supplies. The crash occurred at Ch arikot, roughly 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Kathmandu. Two Nepali soldiers and 6 American soldiers died in the crash.135International aidUNICEF appealed for donations, as exclude to 1.7 million children had been driven out into the open, and were in desperate need of drinking water, psychological counsel, temporary shelters, sanitisation and protection from disease outbreak. It distributed water, tents, hygiene kits, water purification tablets and buckets.138 Numerous other organizations provided similar support.139 India was the first to respond within hours, being Nepals immediate neighbour,140 with Operation Maitri which provided rescue and relief by its armed forces. It also evacuated its own and other countries stranded nationals. The United Kingdom has been the largest bilateral aid donor to Nepal following the earthquake.141142 The United States, China and other nations have provided helicopters as requested by the Nepali government.143144On 26 April 2015, internationa l aid agencies and governments mobilized rescue workers and aid for the earthquake. They faced challenges in both getting assistance to Nepal and ferrying people to remote areas as the country had fewhelicopters.145146 Relief efforts were also hampered by Nepalese government insistency on routing aid through the Prime Ministers Disaster Relief Fund and its National Emergency Operation Center. After concerns were raised, it was clarified that Non-profits or NGOs already in the country could continue receiving aid directly and bypass the official fund.145147Aid mismatch and supply of leftovers by donors,148 aid diversion in Nepal,149 mistrust over control of the distribution of funds and supplies,150151152 congestion and customs delays at Kathmandus drome and border check posts were also reported.153154 On 3 May 2015, restrictions were placed on surd aircraft flying in aid supplies after new cracks were noticed on the runway at the Tribhuvan airport (KTM), Nepals only wide-body jet airport.155156157