All that you want to know about Nepal Earthquake: Info, Help, Govt Effort, Pics

Nepal has been stuck by a 7.8 intensity (on Richter scale) earthquake. It occurred at 11:56 NST, at a depth of approximately 15 km (9.3 mi), with its epicenter approximately 34 km (21 mi) east-southeast of Lamjung, Nepal, and lasted approximately twenty seconds. Many casualties have been reported. 1178 dead and more than 500 injured. At least 1130 were killed only in Nepal while at least 34 died in India, 12 in China while 2 were killed in Bangladesh. It has been felt in India as well in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi.

Why did the quake happen?

As per the US Geological Survey, the reason for the quake was the movement of the Indian plate northwards. Here is their analysis.

The April 25, 2015 M 7.8 Nepal earthquake occurred as the result of thrust faulting on or near the main frontal thrust between the subducting India plate and the overriding Eurasia plate to the north. At the location of this earthquake, approximately 80 km to the northwest of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, the India plate is converging with Eurasia at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-northeast, driving the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range. The preliminary location, size and focal mechanism of the April 25 earthquake are consistent with its occurrence on the main subduction thrust interface between the India and Eurasia plates.

Although a major plate boundary with a history of large-to-great sized earthquakes, large earthquakes on the Himalayan thrust are rare in the documented historical era. Just four events of M6 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the April 25, 2015 earthquake over the past century. One, a M 6.9 earthquake in August 1988, 240 km to the southeast of the April 25 event, caused close to 1500 fatalities. The largest, an M 8.0 event known as the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake, occurred in a similar location to the 1988 event. It severely damaged Kathmandu, and is thought to have caused around 10,600 fatalities.

All that you want to know about #NepalEarthquake: Info, Help, Govt Effort, Pics Click To Tweet

Where to donate?

You can donate to Sewa International. They have already released $10,000 towards the relief in Nepal. The URL to donate is “Contribute to Sewa for Nepal Quake Relief“. Here is some more information on the organization. Please call them in case you have any questions.

Sewa International
P O Box 820867, Houston
TX 77282-0867

Phone: 708-872-7392
Email: info@sewausa.org
website: www.sewausa.org
2. A donation fund has been established on crowdfunding website GlobalGiving where donations can be made online or even by phone by texting “GIVE NEPAL” to the number 80088. Automatic donation of $10 will be made on sending that text.

Information on the tragedy

Sharing information that is available from various agencies and people on the work being done and how one can find their loved ones. Only the most important information at your finger tips! First sharing our own infographic for news and information about the quake. (Click on it for a larger view)

Drishti's Infographic — Drishti’s Infographic

Google launches “Person Finder” for the #NepalEarthquake victims: http://t.co/OiGvXATHR7 pic.twitter.com/tZ4Ga40TCO

— Kirk Borne (@KirkDBorne) April 25, 2015

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Facebook has introduced a page – Nepal Earthquake – where people can mark themselves and their friends as “Safe” if they are in the earthquake area.

#Facebook introduced a Safety Check feature for the #NepalEarthquake where you can mark whether people you know safe pic.twitter.com/qyILAMAeST — Sari Setiogi (@setiogi) April 25, 2015

All that you want to know about Nepal Earthquake: Info, Help, Govt Effort, Pics

Read next