April 25, 2015 Earthquake: Kathmandu, India, China, Bangladesh, Nepal

At least 8,669 people killed, 384 missing, 17,866 injured, 500,717 houses destroyed and 269,190 damaged in Nepal in this earthquake and the M 7.3 aftershock on May 12 at 07:05 UTC. Included in the casualties are 180 people killed from the collapse of Nepal's historic Dharahara Tower and 20 people killed and 120 injured from an avalanche at the Mount Everest Base Camp. Landslides occurred and roads and power lines damaged in Nepal. Felt (VIII) at Bhimeshwar, Kathmandu and Kirtipur; (VII) at Bhaktapur, Bharatpur, Bidur, Ghorahi, Lalitpur and Pokhara. Damage estimates exceed 5 billion US dollars. At least 78 people killed and 560 injured in India. Felt (VII) at Nautanwa and (VI) at Patna and Shiliguri. At least 25 people killed, 4 missing, 383 injured, 2,500 houses destroyed and 24,700 damaged in China. Four people killed, 200 injured and 17 buildings damaged in Bangladesh. Felt (V) at Bhaluka and (IV) at Dhaka, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Tangail and Tungi. Felt (IV) at Thimphu, Bhutan. Felt in much of western Bangladesh, northern India, central Nepal and parts of Bhutan. Felt as far as Kahuta, Pakistan.

Tectonic Summary

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.

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.

(above from ref #13456)

Citing Nepalese government figures, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said an estimated 8 million people had been affected by the magnitude-7.8 quake in 39 of Nepal's districts. Heavy snow in the region also caused an avalanche and mudslide Tuesday in the isolated village of Ghodatabela, leaving 250 people missing, officials said. "In some villages, about 90% of the houses have collapsed. They're just flattened," said Rebecca McAteer, an American physician who rushed to the quake zone from the distant Nepal hospital where she works. And yet, the timing of the earthquake - near midday, when most rural people are working in the fields - meant most villagers were spared injuries when buildings collapsed, she said.

Buildings in parts of Kathmandu were reduced to rubble, and there were shortages of food, fuel, electricity and shelter.

Many of the ornate, historic buildings in Bhaktapur, a key tourist site just east of Kathmandu, collapsed.

The country's confirmed death toll rose to 4,680, said police Inspector Sharad Thapa at the Nepal Police Control Room in Kathmandu. Another 61 were killed in neighboring India, and China's official Xinhua News Agency reported 25 dead in Tibet. At least 18 of the dead were killed at Mount Everest as the quake unleashed an avalanche that buried part of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing for summit attempts. Some 8,063 people have been injured, Bam said.

(above from ref #11193)

At last count Thursday, the Natl Emergency Operations Center estimated that more than 10% of [Nepal's] homes were destroyed (299,588) or damaged (269,107). (ref #11208)

Nepal has suffered a loss of up to $10 billion in the devastating earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks that rattled the Himalayan nation, the government said. (ref #11213)

8957 dead, 3 missing, 24 000 injured, 6bn USD total damage, 498 852 houses destroyed, 256 697 houses damaged (ref #13048)

5.174bn USD total damage, 8942 dead (4 Bangladesh, 29 China, 8831 Nepal, 78 India), 19 075 injured (ref #1250)