earthquake

On Saturday April 25 at 11:56am local time, an M7.8 earthquake began 82 km (51 mi) NW of Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu. The event was followed by many aftershocks, the largest being an M7.3 on May 12, 17 days after the mainshock. The toll included about 9000 fatalities, 23,000 injuries, more than 500,000 destroyed houses, and about 270,000 damaged houses.

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In the days and months following the 2015 earthquake, scientists spread out over the area and collected data that will help them learn more about earthquake hazards in the region, while also being sensitive to the humanitarian crisis and assisting with immediate hazard assessments. They’ve already learned a great deal about the earthquake, the shaking, and the resulting damage, but their research is ongoing. The following is a summary of what happened, the data that scientists have been able to gather, and how the data has helped them to figure out the underlying science of this event.