Lying in one of the most seismically active regions of the world, Nepal has a long history of earthquakes. The first documented earthquake event in the country dates back to 7 June 1255, during the reign of King Abhaya Malla. The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, took the life of the king and wiped out a third of Kathmandu's then population. [1] Nepal has witnessed at least one major earthquake per century ever since.
The following is a list of earthquakes in Nepal. It includes only major seismic events with their epicentre in the country, and those that occurred outside the country, that resulted in a significant loss of life and property in the country.
Date | Time‡ | Place | Lat | Long | Deaths | Mag. | Comments | Sources | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1255-07-07 | Kathmandu | 27.7 | 85.3 | 2,200 | 7.8 | [2] | ||||
1260 | Sagarmatha | 27.1 | 86.8 | 100 | 7.1 | [3] | ||||
1344 | Mechi | 27.5 | 87.5 | 100 | 7.9 | [3] | ||||
1408-08 | Near Nepal-Tibet Border, Bagmati zone | 27.9 | 86.0 | 2,500 | 8.2 | [3] | ||||
1505-06-06 | Karnali zone see 1505 Lo Mustang earthquake | 29.5 | 83.0 | 6,000 | 8.9 | [3] | ||||
1681-01 | Northern Kosi zone | 27.6 | 87.1 | 4,500 | 8.0 | [3] | ||||
1767-07 | Northern Bagmati zone | 28.0 | 85.5 | 4,000 | 7.9 | [3] | ||||
1833-08-26 | Kathmandu, Bihar see 1833 Kathmandu–Bihar earthquake | 27.9 | 85.5 | 6,500 | 8.0 | [4] | ||||
1869-07-07 | Kathmandu | 27.7 | 85.3 | 750 | 6.5 | [5] | ||||
1916-08-28 | 06:39 | Nepal, Tibet | 30.0 | 81.0 | 3,500 | 7.7 | [6] | |||
1934-01-15 | 08:43 | Nepal, India see 1934 Nepal–India earthquake | 26.773 | 86.762 | 10,700–12,000 | 8.0 | [7] | |||
1966-06-27 | 10:41 | Doti | 29.554 | 80.854 | 80 | 6.3 | [8] | |||
1980-07-29 | 14:58 | Pithoragarh see 1980 Nepal earthquake | 29.598 | 81.092 | 200 | 6.5 | [9] | |||
1988-08-20 | 23:09 | Kathmandu, Bihar see 1988 Nepal earthquake | 26.775 | 86.616 | 1,091 | 6.9 | [10] | |||
2011-09-18 | 18:29 | Sikkim see 2011 Sikkim earthquake | 27.33 | 88.62 | 111 | 6.9 | ||||
2015-04-25 | 11:56 | Gorkha see April 2015 Nepal earthquake | 28.147 | 84.708 | 8,857 | 7.8 or 8.1 | see also list of 2015 aftershocks | [11] | ||
2015-05-12 | 12:38 | Dolakha see May 2015 Nepal earthquake | 27.97 | 85.96 | 213 | 7.3 | One of the 2015 aftershocks | |||
2022-11-09 | 02:12 | Doti see 2022 Nepal earthquake | 29.30 | 81.16 | 6 | 5.7 | [12] [13] | |||
2023-11-03 | 23:47 | Jajarkot | 28.84 | 82.18 | 157 | 5.7 | [14] [15] | |||
Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. |
Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from weak events detectable only by seismometers, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history. Below, earthquakes are listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities, and number of scientific studies.
The 1999 İzmit earthquake was a magnitude 7.6 earthquake which struck the Kocaeli Province of Turkey on 17 August 1999. Between 17,127 and 18,373 people died as a result, and it caused an estimated US $6.5 billion in damage. It was named for the quake's proximity to the northwestern city of İzmit. The earthquake occurred at 03:01 local time at a shallow depth of 15 km. A maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme) was observed. The earthquake lasted for 37 seconds, causing seismic damage, and is widely remembered as one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern Turkish history.
The 1988 Nepal earthquake occurred in Nepal near the Indian border and affected much of northern Bihar. The magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook the region on August 21, killing at least 709 persons and injuring thousands. The earthquake struck in two installments of 10 seconds and 15 seconds each and left cracks in 50,000 buildings, including Raj Bhavan and the old Secretariat Building in Patna, Bihar.
Abhaya Malla was the second Malla king of Nepal and a son of Aridev Malla. He succeeded his father in 1216 and died during the 1255 earthquake which wiped out a third of the population of the Kathmandu Valley.
The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is a décollement under the Himalaya Range. This thrust fault follows a NW-SE strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dips about 10 degrees towards the north, beneath the region. It is the largest active continental megathrust fault in the world.
The 1988 Lancang–Gengma earthquakes, also known as the 11.6 earthquakes by the Chinese media were a pair of devastating seismic events that struck Lancang and Gengma counties, Yunnan, near the border with Shan State, Burma. The earthquake measured moment magnitude (Mw ) 7.0 and was followed 13 minutes later by a 6.9 Mw shock. These earthquakes were assigned a maximum China seismic intensity of IX and X, respectively. Between 748 and 939 people were killed; more than 7,700 were injured. Both earthquakes resulted in US$270 million in damage and economic losses. Moderately large aftershocks continued to rock the region, causing additional casualties and damage.
In 1954, the state of Nevada was struck by a series of earthquakes that began with three magnitude 6.0+ events in July and August that preceded the Mw 7.1–7.3 mainshock and M 6.9 aftershock, both on December 12. All five earthquakes are among the largest in the state, and the largest since the Cedar Mountain earthquake of 1932 and Pleasant Valley event in 1915. The earthquake was felt throughout much of the western United States.
The last one in 1255 killed one-third of the Valley's population, including King Abhaya Malla.