Earth Science Essay Sample

In the year 2015 there was an earthquake in Nepal. It is a series of major earthquakes in Nepal, the first of which took place April 25, 2015 and was the most powerful since 1934 (the magnitude of the earthquake was 7,8 Mw, 8.1 Ms; IX on the Mercalli Scale); another - 12 May 2015 (magnitude was 7,3Mw), in addition, after the main shock a series of aftershocks occurred.

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More than 8000 people were killed, more than 14 thousand injured, tens of thousands of homes destroyed and more than a half a million buildings damaged. The strongest aftershocks occurred on April 25 in the afternoon 11:56 NST local time (7.8 with the depth of the hypocenter 15 km), then in a half an hour (6,6 Mw, hypocenter was at the depth of 10 km), two strong aftershocks (6,6 Mw and 6,7 Mw) occurred in the morning of April 26. Weaker aftershocks were observed until the morning of April 28.

Tremors were felt in Nepal's capital Kathmandu and destroyed many buildings there. Tremors were also observed on Mount Everest, triggering avalanches, which killed at least 19 climbers.

On May 12, Nepal, there was another strong earthquake whose magnitude is estimated at 7,3Mw. The epicenter was located 80 km north-east of Kathmandu. As a result of it in Nepal 117 people were killed, more than 1926 injured; 17 people were killed in India, another person was killed in the territory of China.

The main earthquake began at 11:56 am Nepal time April 25, 2015 (in 6:11:26 UT) 34 km to the east-south-east of Lamjung District (central Nepal) at a depth of about 15 kilometers and lasted about twenty seconds. The US Geological Survey initially identified the magnitude of this earthquake was 7.5 points, but soon picked it up to 7,8 Mw. According to "China Earthquake Network Center" magnitude was 8,1 Mw. India Meteorological Department has registered two powerful propulsions - at 6:11 and 6:45 UTC; first magnitude was 7.8 Mw of, and its epicenter was 80 kilometers north-west of Kathmandu, and closest to the epicenter of the epicenter appeared Bhagalpur largest city, located 53 km. For the same Indian data, the magnitude of the second shock was lower: 6,6 Mw, its epicenter was in 65 kilometers east of Kathmandu, and focus - at a depth of about 10 km. This was followed by more than 35 aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.5 points or more, including another 6.6 Mb.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake was the cause of the sudden release of accumulated stress on a geological fault line where the Indian Plate under the Eurasian slowly sinking. Kathmandu, stands on the size of the Earth's crust block of approximately 120 by 60 kilometers, the earthquake shifted to three meters to the south in just 30 seconds.

Victims of the earthquake in Nepal, according to the May 12, 2015 (before re-earthquake), were 8151 people local police said on their Facebook page about it. 17,868 wounded. According to the same source the number reached 8699 people affected by the earthquake on June 1, 2015 dead and 22,489 wounded. Earlier, Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala said that the number of victims of the earthquake could reach 10 thousand people. The UN estimates that the earthquake affected 8 million people in the country, of which 2 million live in the 11 most affected areas.

Many countries, non-governmental organizations and individuals rendered financial and material assistance to Nepal.