Edition 1

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Gorkha Earthquake

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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck central Nepal on 25 April 2015, rupturing the Main Himalayan Thrust between Gorkha and the Kathmandu region. Collapsing buildings, landslides, avalanches, and isolation killed nearly 9,000 people and injured more than 21,000. A magnitude 7.3 aftershock on 12 May brought further deaths, damage, and fear during an already difficult response.

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25 April-12 May 2015

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USGS mainshock epicenter area

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The Indian plate continues to push beneath Eurasia, loading the faults that built the Himalaya. Nepal's dense historic settlements, unreinforced masonry, hillside roads, remote villages, cultural monuments, and unevenly enforced building standards created multiple forms of exposure. Scientists had long recognized the regional earthquake hazard, but preparedness and structural retrofit remained incomplete.

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The mainshock began late in the morning and ruptured eastward beneath central Nepal. Long-period motion shook the Kathmandu Valley while intense movement damaged rural districts nearer the rupture. Buildings and heritage structures collapsed, landslides blocked roads and rivers, and avalanches struck Mount Everest and the Langtang Valley.

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Neighbors, local responders, the Nepalese military, medical teams, and international assistance searched rubble and delivered shelter, water, food, and care. Mountainous terrain, damaged roads, weather, aftershocks, and the scale of displacement slowed access to remote communities. The 12 May aftershock caused new collapses while many people were still living outdoors.

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Nepal created a national reconstruction program for homes, schools, health facilities, roads, and cultural heritage. Hundreds of thousands of households rebuilt through grants tied to earthquake-resistant techniques, though land tenure, cost, remoteness, and traditional construction complicated recovery. The earthquake generated major advances in Himalayan geodesy, landslide mapping, and seismic-risk planning.

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The Gorkha earthquake shows that geological hazard becomes a social disaster through construction, access, terrain, poverty, and governance. It also demonstrates why rebuilding houses and protecting living heritage require different but connected forms of expertise.

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Rebuilt homes and monuments stand beside repaired masonry, memorials, altered slopes, abandoned settlements, and mapped landslide scars. Government assessments, household records, satellite imagery, seismic data, and UNESCO documentation preserve the physical and institutional history of recovery.

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Official totals changed as remote districts reported losses, and counts vary by whether later deaths or missing people are included. Mainshock parameters have been refined, while research continues on the rupture's depth, eastern limit, landslide inventory, and how much strain remains on neighboring Himalayan fault segments.

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Chaos Tourist editorial

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M 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal Earthquake
Nepal Earthquake 2015 Post Disaster Needs Assessment
Restoring cultural heritage after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake

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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck central Nepal on 25 April 2015, rupturing the Main Himalayan Thrust between Gorkha and the Kathmandu region.
The mainshock began late in the morning and ruptured eastward beneath central Nepal.
Official totals changed as remote districts reported losses, and counts vary by whether later deaths or missing people are included.
The Gorkha earthquake shows that geological hazard becomes a social disaster through construction, access, terrain, poverty, and governance.