The Kathmandu Valley and the Constant Terror of Earthquakes Essay

The Kathmandu Valley and the Constant Terror of Earthquakes One important climatic feature that plagues the South Asian region of the Kathmandu Valley is earthquakes. A few severe earthquakes have taken place in the country's history and caused many deaths and nearly irreparable damage to impoverished Nepal. The residents of the Kathmandu Valley experience small tremors nearly every day, whether they can feel them or not. The world and the nation is waiting for the 'next big one' to terrorize the small country. The Kingdom of Nepal is a landlocked nation that geographically lies between India and China. The narrow country also located at the boundary between the Indian and Tibetan tectonic plates and is thus extremely susceptible to earthquakes.[1] The entire kingdom falls into highly seismic zones, including the mountains. The Himalayan mountain range was even formed by the collision of the Asian and Indian plates that started about 50 million years ago, and ended with the subduction of the Indian plate underneath Tibet.[2] The Universities of Alaska and Colorado, in order to help these poor nations, have made precise measurements in both the Nepal Himalayan range and Tibetan Plateau since March of 1991.[3] The researchers have discovered that the Indian plate moves 53-63 millimeters closer to Asia at the same time as Tibet moves the same direction by 34-39 millimeters each year.[4] Therefore, Nepal is rowed about 19-24 millimeters per year.[5] As these steady movements have continued throughout the years, and slip events have also occurred causing great earthquakes on a north-sloping surface underneath the Himalayan mountains.[6] And as lakes long ago occupied the Kathmandu Valley,... ...ismological Centre. [9] GeoHazards International: A Nonprofit Working Towards Global Earthquake Safety. ÒA Nonprofit Organization Kathmandu Project.Ó http://www.geohaz.org/contents/projects/kathmandu.html. [10] GeoHazards International. [11] GeoHazards International. [12] National Seismological Centre. [13] National Seismological Centre. [14] Shakya, Naresh Man. [15] GeoHazards International. [16] GeoHazards International. [17] Shakya, Naresh Man. [18] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. ÒChapter 3: Nepal.Ó National Society for Earthquake Technology- Nepal (NSET). 2003. [19] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. [20] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. [21] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. [22] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. [23] Asian Disaster Reduction Center. [24] Asian Disaster Reduction Center.