The Gorkha Nepal Earthquakes of 2015 – Lessons for NZ
A public presentation on the recent Nepal Gorkha earthquake sequence will be given by earthquake engineers who deployed to Nepal immediately after the M7.8 Gorkha earthquake of 25 April 2015.
Presentations by members of the Nepal Learning from Earthquakes team –
Deployed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE), with Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and the Global Fairness Initiative
Dr Richard Sharpe, Beca, Wellington;
Dr Jan Kupec, Aurecon, Christchurch;
Prof Jason Ingham, University of Auckland;
Prof Rajesh Dhakal, University of Canterbury;
Mr Jitendra Bothara, Miyamoto NZ, Christchurch
Christchurch Presentation: Friday 3 July 2015
Wellington Presentation: Thursday 9 July 2015
Video recording link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQNHKZA6dJo&list=PL-EHqDyXHC-WBeac7xmKv-em-MD4JWaDv
Presentation Abstract
The Gorkha earthquake sequence started with a M7.8 earthquake on 25 April 2015 with epicentre in the Gorkha Region of Nepal, approximately 80 km northwest of the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu. The Kathmandu Valley is home to nearly 2.8 million inhabitants. The earthquake flattened homes, buildings and temples, causing widespread landsliding and damage across the region. It impacted nearby parts of China and India. Aftershocks, including a M7.3 earthquake on 12 May 2015, followed. Impacts include some 8,702 fatalities and 22,493 injured as of 3 June 2015.
Parallels exist between the global settings of Nepal and New Zealand. Both countries are on a tectonic plate boundary where plate motions continue to push up the Southern Alps in New Zealand and the higher Himalayas in Nepal, including Mount Everest. Earthquakes are concentrated along the plate boundary zones. New Zealand, like Nepal and other countries, suffers from the impacts of earthquakes. The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering works with other countries in the global “Learning from Earthquakes” research programme. By learning more about earthquake impacts, anywhere in the world, earthquake risk reduction can be learnt, adapted, and applied to reduce risk from earthquake in Nepal, New Zealand, and in other countries.
This seminar will present a summary of the observations with focus on relevant lessons for NZ and ongoing work on understanding and mitigating the effects of earthquakes. The seminar is to be repeated in Wellington.
NZSEE gratefully acknowledges the financial support by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment and EQC for the Learning from Earthquakes programme.
