Nepal remains under seismic threat – ABC Color

PARIS. Nepal earthquake that devastated this year partially released the tension in the Himalayan fault but earthquake risks remain high, according to experts.

On April 25, 2015, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred in central Nepal, killing more than 8,800 people and destroying 600,000 homes. Just over two weeks later, a second earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5.

The segment of the fault that gave on April 25 (the lower edge of the Main Frontal Thrust) was now decompressed to release pressure. “However, certain parts of the fault to the west were not broken and remain trancadas”, experts estimate.

The quake began in the northwest of Kathmandu and then spread over some 140 km east . Measurements indicate that the break came gradually, almost gently, and not traced to the surface.

“It is a great tragedy, but could have been worse,” he told AFP Jean -Philippe Avouac , co-author of two studies published simultaneously Thursday in the journals Nature and Science.

The scientists also warn that the earthquake transferred stress in the shallow western sectors. However, “this increase in pressure was not important enough to increase the risk of large earthquakes,” says Jean-Philippe Avouac.

Earthquakes in Nepal are the result of the convergence of the plate Indian and Eurasian tectonic plate.

On the border of the two plates, which deforms sinking the edge of the lighter. As a spring is compressed, the edge of the plate absorbs the deformation until it is strong enough to break the plate, thereby producing the quake.

“The western part of the Main Front failure Thrust (MFT) – which marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plate – must be watched closely, “researchers need

The portion 800 km west of the previous quake, which separates the area. Nepalese earthquakes of 1833 and 2015 (Kathmandu) and the quake zone Kangra (India) in 1905 is an area of ​​risk. That sector, which borders the Himalayas, knew no earthquakes for more than 500 years ago and the failure clearly under pressure.