Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
Learning From Earthquakes

Gorkha, Nepal

Data Map

The Data Map displays earthquake damage and impact observations from EERI field teams and other contributors using EERI’s Photo Upload Tool. Whenever possible, the data map overlays other important layers, including USGS ShakeMaps, PGV/PGA, ground motion stations, and other location data. The Data Map layers are interactive and can be filtered for specific details.

Reconnaissance Photo Gallery

The Reconnaissance Photo Gallery is a repository of photos taken by EERI field teams and other contributors. Many photos are geolocated and allow field teams, researchers, and those involved in recovery effort to identify specific damage locations by site and proximity to other features using the Data Map. The Photo Gallery can be filtered by user and searched for specific records, or used to upload photos in the field.

Featured Resources

August 12, 2019
EERI Briefing video series about the April 25, 2015 Nepal Earthquake. The 14 videos feature an introduction on...
July 17, 2018
Earthquake information from the National Society for Earthquke Technology-Nepal (NSET).

Resources

DateCategoryTitleDescription
08-12-2019
EERI team update
Nepal Earthquake Reconnaissance Briefing WebinarEERI Briefing video series about the April 25, 2015 Nepal Earthquake. The 14 videos feature an introduction on EERI’s response to the event, presentations in different topic areas by each member of the reconnaissance team that visited Nepal in June, and a summary of the mission’s findings. Briefing videos ran...
07-17-2018
Link to external resourceSeismology
USGS Event PagesEarthquake information from USGS including ShakeMap and PAGER for main shock and aftershocks
07-17-2018
Link to external resource
NSET Earthquake Information PageEarthquake information from the National Society for Earthquke Technology-Nepal (NSET).
07-02-2018
Report
Investigating Community Resilience in Bhaktapur District and Surrounding Areas in Nepal following the 2015 EarthquakeBy C. Welton-Mitchell, R. Awale, L. James, and S. Khanal. January 2017, 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Following the Nepal, Gorkha, M7.8 earthquake on April 25, 2015 a research team of several academic and practitioner experts in earthquake engineering, community resilience, and risk reduc...
07-02-2018
Report
Investigating Community Resilience in Chautara, NepalBy B. Lizundia, H. Kaushik, J. Kupec, S. Shrestha, C. Welton-Mitchell. January 2017, 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Following the M7.8 earthquake on April 25, 2015 in Nepal, as part of the Earthquake Engineering Reconnaissance Institute (EERI) reconnaissance trip, a research team of severa...
07-02-2018
Report
Investigating Community Resilience in Nepal: A Healthcare FocusBy J. Mitrani-Reiser, M. Mieler, H. Kumar, S. Shrestha, Michael Germaraad, K. O’Conor, T.D. Kirsch. January 2017, 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Following the M7.8 earthquake on April 25, 2015 in Nepal, an international research team of several academic and practitioner experts in earthqua...
02-09-2018
EERI team updateReport
M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal Earthquake on April 25, 2015 and its AftershocksBy Bret Lizundia, Surya Narayan Shrestha, John Bevington, Rachel Davidson, Kishor Jaiswal, Ganesh Kumar Jimee, Hemant Kaushik, Hari Kumar, Jan Kupec, Judy Mitrani-Reiser, Chris Poland, Suraj Shrestha, Courtney Welton-Mitchell, Heidi Tremayne, and Maggie Ortiz. May 2016, Earthquake Engineering Research Instit...
02-09-2018
Report
Earthquake Spectra Special Issue on the Nepal EarthquakeEdited by Bret Luzundia, Rachel A. Davidson, Youssef M. A. Hashash, and Robert B. Olshansky. December 2017, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. Earthquake Spectra's special issue on the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake is now available. This online-only issue of the journal provides a co...
02-07-2018
Geotechnical EngineeringReport
GEER Report: Geotechnical Field Reconnaissance: Gorkha (Nepal) Earthquake of April 25 2015 and Related Shaking SequenceBy Youssef M.A. Hashash (UIUC), Binod Tiwari (CSF), Robb E. S. Moss (CalPoly), Domniki Asimaki (Caltech), Kevin B. Clahan (LCI), D. Scott Kieffer (TUGraz), Doug S. Dreger (UCB), Amy Macdonald (TT), Chris M. Madugo (PG&E), H. Benjamin Mason (OSU), Menzer Pehlivan (MRCE), Deepak Rayamajhi (OSU), Indra Achar...
12-12-2019
Report
EEFIT Mission report: Gorkha, NepalThis EEFIT Field Mission report details the geological events leading up to the 7.8 Mw earthquake which struck Gorkha on 25 April 2015 and the consequences for the structures and communities affected.

Photo Gallery

Photos in this gallery have been contributed by EERI members and California Earthquake Clearinghouse participants. Photos from this gallery can be used for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution.

Photo Information
Attachment ID
Caption/Description
Latitude
Longitude
Date Taken
Data Copyright Holder
Photographer
Original Filename
Filename
File Type
Additional Information
Record ID
Observer Name
Observer Email
Experience Level of Observer
Observation Category
Description
Date and Time of Observation
Type of Bridge
Affiliation
Observer Area of Expertise
Professional Licenses Held By Observer
Timezone
Site Owner
Site Latitude
Site Longitude
Bridge ID
Route
Bridge Foundation
Length (ft)
Width (ft)
Year Built
Retrofit
Year of Retrofit
Causes of Damage (Bridges)
Bridge Functional
Estimated Repair Time
Additional Notes (Bridges)
Level of Lead Organization
Type of Organization
Incident Command System Functional Area
Additional notes (Emergency Management/Response)

Data Map

A preview of the data map is shown below. For more functionality (toggle layers, adjust transparency, and view data tables) view the map on ArcGIS Online: https://arcg.is/1ryWSz0.

Materials on this site and on the data maps may be used with proper atrribution (Name of individual or organizational contributor) for non-commercial uses. Questions, contact eeri@eeri.org

How to Contribute

EERI members and other earthquake risk reduction professionals can contribute to reconnaissance efforts for this earthquake in the following ways:
1. Share your reconnaissance plans

If you will be participating as a part of a reconnaissance mission, recovery mission, or traveling to the impacted area for any other purpose, please share information about your plans through the Contact Form.  EERI can help link you to others in the field, support you in efforts to share photos or observations, and connect you with the EERI team (if one is mobilized).

2. Check into the local clearinghouse

If you plan to conduct reconnaissance, please make sure to be in communication with Recep “Ray” Cakir, who is leading the Physical Clearinghouse in Ankara. The information collected through reconnaissance can provide valuable situational awareness for those responding. The physical clearinghouse will close on May 15, 2023 and, at that time, local clearinghouse operations will continue virtually. Ray will continue to serve as the Clearinghouse contact and can be reached at:

3. Contribute Photos and Notes

Contribute post-earthquake field observations and photos. Once reconnaissance teams and others begin to share their photos and observations, they will also be shown on the virtual clearinghouse  Data Map and Photo Gallery pages.  All submissions will help inform both reconnaissance and recovery efforts.  A video tutorial on how to upload photos is available here.

For login information and help, please email maggie@eeri.org.

4. Submit an Paper to the Earthquake Spectra Special Collection

Earthquake Spectra invites earthquake researchers to contribute papers to a special collection titled, “Impact of the February 6, 2023 M7.8 and M7.6 Earthquakes in Turkey on the Built Environment, and Implications on Seismic Hazard.” More Information about how to submit a paper is available here: https://www.eeri.org/about-eeri/news/16199-earthquake-spectra-announces-special-collection-of-past-papers-on-turkey-syria-and-call-for-new-papers-on-the-february-2023-earthquake-sequence.

5. Review Ethical Reconnaissance Training Materials

As you consider reconnaissance, you are encouraged to review training materials for ethical reconnaissance from CONVERGE, available here: https://converge.colorado.edu/resources/

Other Ways to Contribute

Earthquake investigators are encouraged to contact EERI staff at eqclearinghouse@eeri.org if they have suggestions about how they can contribute to this clearinghouse effort.

About

What is A Virtual Clearinghouse?

Virtual Clearinghouses are part of EERI’s Learning for Earthquakes (LFE) program. Beginning in 2009, EERI began to host a series of virtual earthquake clearinghouses after major earthquakes where information coming from the affected area could be quickly shared with members and others. These virtual clearinghouses are websites that contain early information provided by investigators from a variety of disciplines, including members of EERI reconnaissance teams. The virtual clearinghouses primarily capture ephemeral data about each event, but may also be updated with recovery and rebuilding information over time. For a complete list of EERI virtual clearinghouse sites and more information about the Learning From Earthquakes program, visit http://www.learningfromearthquakes.org.

How do I use this site?

EERI members and other investigators are encouraged to use this clearinghouse website to share brief observations and photos from the field as well as link to other resources or websites where more detailed information can be found. Please help contribute to our effort.

The Resources page displays all the resources collected through various sources (i.e. field reconnaissance posts, reconnaissance reports, links to previously collected data sources, housing reports for the affected area, etc.) in a searchable summary table. These resources are organized by categories. This page provides users with several resources including reconnaissance reports. It also contains links to other sites for more information.

The Data Map displays observations (primarily captioned photos but occasionally other data) from EERI field teams or other contributors showing earthquake damage and impacts. Many of these photos are geolocated to allow field teams, researchers and those involved in the recovery effort to identify specific damage locations.

The Photo Gallery is a database of these photos that can be searched for specific information. Data Maps also overlay many data layers from other organizations including the USGS shake maps and ground motion stations when possible.

The How to Contribute page identifies ways that EERI members and other earthquake risk reduction experts can contribute to the reconnaissance effort and virtual clearinghouse site.

If you are interested in a particular topic, use the search bar at the top of the page to find information on specific subjects, navigate posts, and uncover related media articles. Additionally, use the search bar to explore the Photo Gallery to see what has been posted thus far.

How does EERI respond to earthquakes?
What does a reconnaissance team do?

EERI responds to earthquakes as a part of its Learning from Earthquakes (LFE) program. EERI often sends a reconnaissance team of earthquake risk mitigation experts to investigate earthquake impacts depending on the earthquake magnitude, location, extent of impacts on the built environment, funding constraints, and many other factors. The reconnaissance team makes a rapid, general damage survey of the affected area, documents initial important observations from the particular earthquake, and assesses the need for follow-up areas of research. Observations and findings from these teams support emergency response and recovery activities in the short term and improve the understanding of natural hazards and how to mitigate their impacts in the long term.

Who is EERI?

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) is a nonprofit multi-disciplinary technical society of engineers, practicing professionals, and researchers dedicated to reducing earthquake risk. For more information visit www.eeri.org.