Nepal was surprised this past Saturday, April 25, with a great earthquake that today has a balance of more than 4,000 deaths. The earthquake, with a scale of 7.9 degrees on the Richter scale, would be the equivalent of the explosion of 32,000 atomic bombs on the same area.
This earthquake is undoubtedly one of the worst natural disasters to have occurred in the Himalayas. Apart from devastating Kathmandu , the capital and largest city of Nepal, it was also felt in Tibet, northern India and Bangladesh.
The emergence of earthquakes in this area of the planet is not strange, since this location is classified as highly seismically dangerous : the tectonic plate of India is sliding and collides violently (and frontally) against the Eurasian plate; This continuous shock accumulates geological stresses that eventually lead to a rupture of the crust and finally the generation of the earthquake.
After the first earthquake of 7.9 degrees, at least 14 more aftershocks were registered , the largest with a magnitude of 6.6. Experts are convinced that the aftershocks are not over and that it is very possible that up to 30 more tremors will occur in the following days that will only further devastate the already devastated areas. The buildings – which are still standing – are badly affected by the earthquake and the appearance of new tremors will only cause many others to collapse .
The fact that the construction of houses and buildings is based on unreinforced masonry explains that a disaster of this magnitude was inevitable. Emblematic monuments of Kathmandu such as the Bhimsen Tower have collapsed with several dozen people inside , a circumstance that has been repeated everywhere. The worst thing is that the rain, the lack of communications and means are complicating the search for survivors. In addition, rescue operations are being hampered by difficult access to some areas, such as the mountainous areas in western Nepal.
T he last time this area of the planet suffered an earthquake of similar magnitude was in 1934 . It was an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale that killed more than 10,000 people.
