Nepal is vulnerable to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary between two tectonic plates which collided 50 million years ago forming the Himalayas
The epicentre of the 25 April earthquake was in a remote area of Gorkha district 80 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu.
It had a magnitude of 7.8 and a shallow underground focal point of 15km, which increased ground shaking. Several aftershocks occurred in the following days.
3.0-4.0
4.0-5.0
5.0-6.0
6.0-7.0
7.0-8.0
Intensity of earthquake
Moment magnitude
50 miles
China
Xizang
Tibet
Fault
line
Mount Everest
– detail below
The worst affected
areas – details below
Epicentre
Kathmandu
Total deaths by district
The earthquake took a deadly toll in both the densely populated Kathmandu valley and isolated rural villages
15-200
200-400
400-800
1,300-2,500
800-1,300
Death toll
Epicentre
50 miles
India
China
Tibet
Gorkha
Kathmandu
Sindhupalchwok
Sindhupalchowk
The death toll in this hilly district is expected to rise further as remote villages await aid. Thousands of people are now homeless and in need of clean water, food and shelter
Kathmandu
Brick and wood homes belonging to the capital’s poorest residents were demolished along with many religious and historic sites. Thousands are sleeping in tents with little or no access to sanitation and clean water although aid is now arriving
Gorkha
Hundreds of villages have been destroyed around the epicentre in Gorkha, which is a difficult region to navigate even when the roads are clear. Helicopters are now delivering food aid to areas identified by the World Food Programme as needing critical help
The climbing season was just getting underway on Mount Everest when the earthquake triggered a massive avalanche
4
3
2
1
Camp 4
Camp 3
Camp 2
Camp 1
Khumbu
icefall
Base camp
Summit
8,848 metres
1 The avalanche hits base camp on Saturday 25 April, killing 14 Nepalese Sherpas and five foreign climbers
2 Above base camp 140 climbers are left stranded after the avalanche blocks a descent through the Khumbu icefall
3 A break in the weather on Monday 27 April allows three helicopters to reach Camp 1 and evacuate all those trapped
4 With no hope of helicopter rescue at these altitudes, mountaineers make their way down to Camp 1
Epicentre
Epicentre
30 miles
30 miles
India
China
Xizang
Tibet
India
China
Tibet
3.0-4.0
4.0-5.0
5.0-6.0
6.0-7.0
7.0-8.0
Intensity of earthquake Moment magnitude
Gorkha
Bhaktapur
Lalitpur
Kathmandu
Nuwakot
Dhading
Kavrepalanchowk
Makwanpur
Khotang
Okhaldhunga
Ramechhap
Dolakha
Rasuwa
Sindhupalchwok
1 The avalanche hits base camp on Saturday 25 April, killing 14 Nepalese Sherpas and five foreign climbers
2 Above base camp 140 climbers are left stranded after the avalanche blocks a descent through the Khumbu icefall
3 A break in the weather on Monday 27 April allows three helicopters to reach Camp 1 and evacuate all those trapped
4 With no hope of helicopter rescue at these altitudes, mountaineers make their way down to Camp 1
Sindhupalchowk
The death toll in this hilly district is expected to rise further as remote villages await aid. Thousands of people are now homeless and in need of clean water, food and shelter
Kathmandu
Brick and wood homes belonging to the capital’s poorest residents were demolished along with many religious and historic sites. Thousands are sleeping in tents with little or no access to sanitation and clean water although aid is now arriving
Gorkha
Hundreds of villages have been destroyed around the epicentre in Gorkha, which is a difficult region to navigate even when the roads are clear. Helicopters are now delivering food aid to areas identified by the World Food Programme as needing critical help
Eurasian
Plate
The worst affected
areas – details below
Mount Everest
– detail below
Kathmandu
Indian Plate
Fault
line
The epicentre of the 25 April earthquake was in a remote area of Gorkha district 80 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu.
It had a magnitude of 7.8 and a shallow underground focal point of 15km, which increased ground shaking. Several aftershocks occurred in the following days.
Nepal is vulnerable to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary between two tectonic plates which collided 50 million years ago forming the Himalayas
15-200
400-800
200-400
1,300-2,500
800-1,300
Death toll
4
3
2
1
Camp 4
Camp 3
Camp 2
Camp 1
Khumbu
icefall
Base camp
Summit
8,848 metres
The climbing season was just getting underway on Mount Everest when the earthquake triggered a massive avalanche
Total deaths by district
The earthquake took a deadly toll in both the densely populated Kathmandu valley and isolated rural villages
Epicentre
30 miles
India
China
Xizang
Tibet
3.0-4.0
4.0-5.0
5.0-6.0
6.0-7.0
7.0-8.0
Intensity of earthquake Moment magnitude
Gorkha
India
China
Tibet
Bhaktapur
Lalitpur
Kathmandu
Nuwakot
Dhading
Kavrepalanchowk
Makwanpur
Khotang
Okhaldhunga
Ramechhap
Dolakha
Rasuwa
Sindhupalchwok
1 The avalanche hits base camp on Saturday 25 April, killing 14 Nepalese Sherpas and five foreign climbers
2 Above base camp 140 climbers are left stranded after the avalanche blocks a descent through the Khumbu icefall
3 A break in the weather on Monday 27 April allows three helicopters to reach Camp 1 and evacuate all those trapped
4 With no hope of helicopter rescue at these altitudes, mountaineers make their way down to Camp 1
Sindhupalchowk
The death toll in this hilly district is expected to rise further as remote villages await aid. Thousands of people are now homeless and in need of clean water, food and shelter
Kathmandu
Brick and wood homes belonging to the capital’s poorest residents were demolished along with many religious and historic sites. Thousands are sleeping in tents with little or no access to sanitation and clean water although aid is now arriving
Gorkha
Hundreds of villages have been destroyed around the epicentre in Gorkha, which is a difficult region to navigate even when the roads are clear. Helicopters are now delivering food aid to areas identified by the World Food Programme as needing critical help
Epicentre
The worst affected
areas – details below
Mount Everest
– detail below
The epicentre of the 25 April earthquake was in a remote area of Gorkha district 80 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu.
It had a magnitude of 7.8 and a shallow underground focal point of 15km, which increased ground shaking. Several aftershocks occurred in the following days.
Nepal is vulnerable to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary between two tectonic plates which collided 50 million years ago forming the Himalayas
15-200
400-800
200-400
1,300-2,500
800-1,300
Death toll
4
3
2
1
Camp 4
Camp 3
Camp 2
Camp 1
Khumbu
icefall
Base camp
Summit
8,848 metres
The climbing season was just getting underway on Mount Everest when the earthquake triggered a massive avalanche
Eurasian
Plate
Fault line
Indian Plate
Kathmandu
Gorkha
Total deaths by district
The earthquake took a deadly toll in both the densely populated Kathmandu valley and isolated rural villages
Epicentre
Gorkha
India
China
Tibet
Bhaktapur
Lalitpur
Kathmandu
Nuwakot
Dhading
Kavrepalanchowk
Makwanpur
Khotang
Okhaldhunga
Ramechhap
Dolakha
Rasuwa
Sindhupalchwok
Epicentre
30 miles
India
China
Xizang
Tibet
1 The avalanche hits base camp on Saturday 25 April, killing 14 Nepalese Sherpas and five foreign climbers
2 Above base camp 140 climbers are left stranded after the avalanche blocks a descent through the Khumbu icefall
3 A break in the weather on Monday 27 April allows three helicopters to reach Camp 1 and evacuate all those trapped
4 With no hope of helicopter rescue at these altitudes, mountaineers make their way down to Camp 1
Sindhupalchowk
The death toll in this hilly district is expected to rise further as remote villages await aid. Thousands of people are now homeless and in need of clean water, food and shelter
Kathmandu
Brick and wood homes belonging to the capital’s poorest residents were demolished along with many religious and historic sites. Thousands are sleeping in tents with little or no access to sanitation and clean water although aid is now arriving
Gorkha
Hundreds of villages have been destroyed around the epicentre in Gorkha, which is a difficult region to navigate even when the roads are clear. Helicopters are now delivering food aid to areas identified by the World Food Programme as needing critical help
3.0-4.0
4.0-5.0
5.0-6.0
6.0-7.0
7.0-8.0
Intensity of earthquake Moment magnitude
The worst affected
areas – details below
Mount Everest
– detail below
The epicentre of the 25 April earthquake was in a remote area of Gorkha district 80 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu.
It had a magnitude of 7.8 and a shallow underground focal point of 15km, which increased ground shaking. Several aftershocks occurred in the following days.
Nepal is vulnerable to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary between two tectonic plates which collided 50 million years ago forming the Himalayas
15-200
400-800
200-400
1,300-2,500
800-1,300
Death toll
Nepal
India
China
4
3
2
1
Camp 4
Camp 3
Camp 2
Camp 1
Khumbu
icefall
Base camp
Summit
8,848 metres
The climbing season was just getting underway on Mount Everest when the earthquake triggered a massive avalanche
Eurasian
Plate
Fault line
Indian Plate
Kathmandu
Bhaktapur
Lalitpur
Nuwakot
Dhading
Kavrepalanchowk
Gorkha
Makwanpur
Khotang
Okhaldhunga
Solukhumbu
Ramechhap
Dolakha
Rasuwa
Sindhupalchwok
Total deaths by district
The earthquake took a deadly toll in both the densely populated Kathmandu valley and isolated rural villages
Epicentre
30 miles
30 miles
India
China
Xizang
Tibet
Gorkha
Gorkha
Hundreds of villages have been destroyed around the epicentre in Gorkha, which is a difficult region to navigate even when the roads are clear. Helicopters are now delivering food aid to areas identified by the World Food Programme as needing critical help
Kathmandu
Brick and wood homes belonging to the capital’s poorest residents were demolished along with many religious and historic sites. Thousands are sleeping in tents with little or no access to sanitation and clean water although aid is now arriving
Sindhupalchowk
The death toll in this hilly district is expected to rise further as remote villages await aid. Thousands of people are now homeless and in need of clean water, food and shelter
3 A break in the weather on Monday 27 April allows three helicopters to reach Camp 1 and evacuate all those trapped
4 With no hope of helicopter rescue at these altitudes, mountaineers make their way down to Camp 1
1 The avalanche hits base camp on Saturday 25 April, killing 14 Nepalese Sherpas and five foreign climbers
2 Above base camp 140 climbers are left stranded after the avalanche blocks a descent through the Khumbu icefall
India
China
Tibet
3.0-4.0
4.0-5.0
5.0-6.0
6.0-7.0
7.0-8.0
Intensity of earthquake Moment magnitude
The worst affected
areas – details below
Mount Everest
– detail below
Kathmandu
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur
Lalitpur
Lalitpur
Kathmandu
Nuwakot
Nuwakot
Dhading
Dhading
Kavrepalanchowk
Kavrepalanchowk
Gorkha
Makwanpur
Makwanpur
Khotang
Khotang
Okhaldhunga
Okhaldhunga
Solukhumbu
Ramechhap
Ramechhap
Dolakha
Dolakha
Rasuwa
Rasuwa
Sindhupalchwok
Sindhupalchwok
15-200
400-800
200-400
1,300-2,500
800-1,300
Death toll
Nepal
India
China
1
4
3
2
Camp 4
Camp 3
Camp 2
Camp 1
Khumbu
icefall
Base camp
The climbing season was just getting underway on Mount Everest when the earthquake triggered a massive avalanche
Summit
8,848 metres
Total deaths by district
The earthquake took a deadly toll in both the densely populated Kathmandu valley and isolated rural villages
It had a magnitude of 7.8 and a shallow underground focal point of 15km, which increased ground shaking. Several aftershocks occurred in the following days.
The epicentre of the 25 April earthquake was in a remote area of Gorkha district 80 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu
Nepal is vulnerable to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary between two tectonic plates which collided 50 million years ago forming the Himalayas
Epicentre
Eurasian Plate
Fault line
Indian Plate