Basantapur Durbar, Swayambunath, Changunarayan among the historic buildings, which are listed in UNESCO, have been severely damaged. Dharahara which was the pride of Nepal has also been broken down. The death toll has already crossed 8,000 and over 21,300 people have been injured. Thousands of people, who lost their homes, are still living in temporary shelters.
Even though people have lost their families, friends and relatives, they all have come up together to help Nepal rise again. Not only Nepali, many other countries like China, India, Turkey, France, USA, UK, etc. extended their helping hands by sending relief materials to quake victims. The most affected districts due to earthquake are Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk , Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Dhading, Gorkha. Most of the houses were critically damaged while some have suffered serious cracks. With continuous aftershocks, people are still afraid of going inside their houses and many people are even suffering from post-traumatic stress. Due to aftershocks, parents and guardians are scared even to send their children to schools and colleges.
This is not only the devastating earthquake in the history of Nepal. Nepal has faced several earthquakes in the past, too. The first ever recorded earthquake in the history of Nepal struck on June 7, 1255. During the period nearly one third of the total population of Kathmandu had been killed. Among those killed was Abahya Malla, the king of Kathmandu Valley.
The earthquake magnitude at that time is believed to be around 7.7 on the Richter scale. Another big earthquake was recorded in 1260 during the reign of King Jayadev Malla. During that period, many buildings and temples had collapsed. There was a huge loss of lives and properties which was later followed by epidemic and famine. Then Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher JB Rana had declared a state of emergency and distributed relief materials among victims during the earthquake of 1934.
Post-2015 earthquake reshapes Nepal's construction industry
Two major earthquakes rocked Kathmandu Valley during the reign of King Rajendra Bikram Shah. Dharahara, the tallest structure in the valley, also suffered damages during that period. The first shock was felt at around 6 pm while the second one was recorded around at 11 pm. The second shock was the deadliest as most of the valley residents were asleep. Numerous houses, temples, and public shelters had collapsed during the earthquake. Thimi and Bhaktapur were completely destroyed. It was reported that 4,214 houses had collapsed in Kathmandu Valley. In total, 18,000 houses were reported to have collapsed across the country.
Seismologists say a large number of aftershocks following the main earthquake are normal. According to seismologist Roger Musson, the biggest aftershock normally occurs one day after the main quake which is less by one magnitude.
Thus, the 6.9 magnitude aftershock on 26 April 2015 following the 7.6-magnitude main quake was expected. It is highly unlikely to have a larger quake immediately after the main earthquake. Therefore, an earthquake larger than 7.6 is immediately unlikely. So, we should not believe in the rumors that bigger earthquake than the April 25 earthquake will occur in the near future.
