Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Performance of Residential Buildings during the M 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) Earthquake of 25 April 2015


Affiliations
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
 

The M 7.8 earthquake of 25 April 2015 was a significant event in the long seismic history of the Eastern Himalayas, which caused more than 8000 casualties; widespread destruction of residential, commercial and cultural heritage structures, surface fissures and landslides in the western and central regions of Nepal. It was followed by a strong aftershock of M 7.3 after 17 days of the main event which caused further damage. These events provided a unique opportunity to study the vulnerability of the built environment and reassess the risk exposure of the region which is undergoing rapid urbanization without adequate preparedness for seismic safety. A field trip was undertaken covering the affected regions of Nepal and adjoining Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This article discusses the general observations in the earthquake affected regions, with special emphasis on the seismic performance of residential structures in the Kathmandu valley region.

Keywords

Earthquake Effects, Reinforced Concrete Frame, Seismic Vulnerability, Unreinforced Masonry.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • US Geological Survey, 2015, M 7.8–34 km ESE of Lamjung, Nepal, cited 12 May 2015; http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ eventpage/us20002926.

  • Bilham, R., The next great earthquake in the Nepal Himalaya. Himal Mag., 1994, 7, 26–30.

  • Bilham, R., Bodin, P. and Jackson, M., Entertaining a great earthquake in western Nepal: historical activity and geodetic tests for the development of strain. J. Geol. Soc. Nepal, 1995, 11, 73– 88.

  • Bilham, R., Gaur, V. K. and Molnar, P., Himalayan Seismic Hazard. Science, 2001, 293, 1442–1444.

  • Ader, T. et al., Convergence rate across the Nepal Himalaya and interseismic coupling on the Main Himalayan Thrust: Implications for seismic hazard. J. Geophys. Res., 2012, 117, 1–16.

  • Sapkota, S. N., Bollinger, L., Klinger, Y., Tapponnier, P., Gaudemer, Y. and Tiwari, D., Primary surface ruptures of the great Himalayan earthquakes in 1934 and 1255. Nature Geosci., 2013, 6, 71–76.

  • Bollinger, L. et al., Estimating the return times of great Himalayan earthquakes in Eastern Nepal: evidence from the Patu and Bardibas strands of the Main Frontal Thrust. J. Geophys. Res., 2014, 119, 7123–7163.

  • Mandatory rules of thumb – reinforced concrete buildings with masonry infill, Nepal National Building Code, NBC 201: 1994, Kathmandu, 1994.

  • Seismic Design of Buildings in Nepal, Nepal National Building Code, NBC 105, Kathmandu, 1994.

  • Indian standard criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures: Part 1 – General provisions and buildings, Bureau of Indian Standards, IS: 1893 (Part 1), New Delhi, 2002.

  • Center for Engineering Strong Motion Data, 2015, Lamjung, Nepal Earthquake of 25 April 2015; available from: http://www.strongmotioncenter. org/cgi-in/CESMD/StaEvent.pl?stacode=NPKATNP (cited 15 May 2015).

  • Newmark, N. M., and Hall, W. J., Earthquake Spectra and Design, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, California, 1982.

  • Wu, Y. M., Teng, T. L., Shin, T. C. and Hsiao, N. C., Relationship between peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and intensity in Taiwan. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 2003, 93, 386–396.

  • US Geological Survey, Seismic Hazard Program, Global Vs30 Map Server, 2015; available from: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ hazards/apps/vs30/ (cited 30 July 2015)

  • Piya, B. K., Generation of a Geological Database for Liquefaction Hazard Assessment in Kathmandu Valley, Thesis submitted to International Institute for Geo-Information of Science and Earth Observation, Enschede, The Netherlands, 2004.

  • Paudyal, Y. R., Yatabe, R., Bhandary, N. P. and Dahal, R. K., A study of local amplification effect of soil layers on ground motion in the Kathmandu Valley using microtremor analysis. Earthq. Eng. Eng. Vib., 2012, 11, 257–268.

  • Kramer, S. L., Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

  • USGS, Response to an urban earthquake Northridge 1994, OpenFile Report 96-263; available from: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ of/1996/ofr-96-0263/, 1996 (cited 18 May 2015)

  • Nasu, N., The Great Indian Earthquake of 15 January 1934, Bull. Earthq. Res. I, 1935, XIII, 417–432.

  • Shakya, M., Varum, H., Vicente, R. and Costa, A., Seismic sensitivity analysis of the common structural components of Nepalese Pagoda temples. Bull. Earthq. Eng., 2014, 12, 1679–1703.

  • Mandatory Rules of Thumb – Load Bearing Masonry. Nepal National Building Code, NBC 202, Kathmandu, 1994.

  • Rai, D. C., Singhal, V., Paikara, S. and Mukherjee, D., Subpaneling of masonry walls using precast reinforced concrete elements for earthquake resistance, Earthq. Spectra, 2014, 30, 913– 937.

  • Parajuli, Y. K., Bothara, J. K., Dixit, A. M., Pradhan, J. and Sharpe, R. D., Nepal Building Code – Need, Development Philosophy and Means. In 12th World Conf. Earthq. Eng., Auckland, 2000 Paper No. 2146.

  • Mandatory Rules of thumb – Reinforced Concrete Buildings without Masonry Infill. Nepal National Building Code, NBC 205, Kathmandu, 1994.

  • Rai, D. C., Mondal, G., Singhal, V., Parool, N., Pradhan, T. and Mitra, K., Reconnaissance report of the M 6.9 Sikkim (India– Nepal border) earthquake of 18 September 2011. Geomat. Nat. Hazard. Risk, 2012, 3, 99–111.


Abstract Views: 434

PDF Views: 210




  • Performance of Residential Buildings during the M 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) Earthquake of 25 April 2015

Abstract Views: 434  |  PDF Views: 210

Authors

Durgesh C. Rai
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
Vaibhav Singhal
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
S. Bhushan Raj
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
S. Lalit Sagar
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

Abstract


The M 7.8 earthquake of 25 April 2015 was a significant event in the long seismic history of the Eastern Himalayas, which caused more than 8000 casualties; widespread destruction of residential, commercial and cultural heritage structures, surface fissures and landslides in the western and central regions of Nepal. It was followed by a strong aftershock of M 7.3 after 17 days of the main event which caused further damage. These events provided a unique opportunity to study the vulnerability of the built environment and reassess the risk exposure of the region which is undergoing rapid urbanization without adequate preparedness for seismic safety. A field trip was undertaken covering the affected regions of Nepal and adjoining Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This article discusses the general observations in the earthquake affected regions, with special emphasis on the seismic performance of residential structures in the Kathmandu valley region.

Keywords


Earthquake Effects, Reinforced Concrete Frame, Seismic Vulnerability, Unreinforced Masonry.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv109%2Fi11%2F2126-2136