7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Nepal, thousands die

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred at 11:56 NST (6:11:26 UTC) on Saturday 25 April 2015, with the epicenter approximately 29 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Lamjung, Nepal, and the hypocenter at a depth of approximately 15 km (9.3 mi). It is the most powerful earthquake to have hit Nepal since the earthquake of 1934. More than 7,000 people are known to have been killed due to the earthquake.

Buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kathmandu Durbar Square collapsed, as did the Dharahara tower, built in 1832, killing at least 180 people, and Manakamana Temple located in Gorkha.

The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19. In the Langtang valley, some 250 people are missing after a huge avalanche and the Langtang village has been wiped out. Hundreds of people are still considered missing and more than 450,000 are displaced.

The earthquake occurred on 25 April 2015 at 11:56 NST (6:11:26 UTC) at a depth of approximately 15 km (9.3 mi), with its epicenter approximately 29 km (18 mi) east-southeast of [[Lamjung District|Lamjung], Nepal, lasting approximately twenty seconds. The earthquake was initially reported as 7.5 Mw by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) before it was quickly upgraded to 7.9 Mw and finally downgraded to 7.8 Mw. The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) reports the earthquake’s magnitude to be 8.1 Mw. The India Meteorological Department said two powerful quakes were registered in Nepal at 06:11 UTC and 06:45 UTC. The first quake measured 7.9 points on the open-ended Richter scale and its epicenter was identified at a distance of 80 km to the northwest of the capital Kathmandu. The second quake was somewhat less powerful 6.6 points on the Richter scale. The seismic focus lay at the depth of 10 km below the surface of the earth. Bharatpur was the nearest major city to the earthquake, 53 km (33 mi) from the epicenter; the earthquake occurred 81 km (50 mi) northwest of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Over twenty aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 Mw or greater occurred following the initial quake, including one of magnitude 6.6 Mw which occurred a few minutes after the earthquake.

According to the DYFI responses on the USGS website, the intensity in Kathmandu was MMI VIII. Tremors were felt in the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and in the Indian capital New Delhi. Minor cracks in walls of houses were reported in Odisha. Minor quakes were registered as far as Kochi, Kerala. The intensity in Patna was MMI V. The intensity was MM IV in Dhaka, Bangladesh, according to the DYFI responses on the USGS site. The earthquake was also experienced in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Pakistan and Bhutan.