Another huge earthquake rocked Nepal today, but it has released only some of the energy stored up along the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
The epicentre of the magnitude-7.3 quake was to the east of the more powerful magnitude-7.8 earthquake on 25 April that killed more than 8000 people.
鈥淭he latest quake will have released some of the stress, but was relatively small, given the overall size of the fault,鈥� says of Durham University in the UK. He likens the fault to a three-dimensional zipper: 鈥淭his quake extends the zipper a bit to the east, but everywhere else the fault remains locked.鈥�
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The remaining stress could be released gradually in minor quakes, in a single large event, or a mixture of the two. 鈥淲e simply don鈥檛 know what will happen next, but we know it remains a risk,鈥� Densmore says.
So far, 36 deaths have been reported officially, including five in India and one in Tibet. The Reuters news agency today reported Nepal鈥檚 home ministry as saying 1117 people have been injured. It says that buildings swayed as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital, and tremors were felt in Bangladesh.
Closer to the epicentre, buildings cracked and landslides were triggered in Lukla, the departure point for treks to Everest. In Kathmandu, residents rushed outdoors when the quake struck at 12:30 local time.
Densmore says that one of the biggest hazards remains landslides, especially in the mountainous areas hardest hit by the quake, with valleys affected and vital roads blocked.
鈥淯nfortunately, the areas hardest hit by landslides in last week鈥檚 quake were closest to the epicentre, and I suspect there will be more this time,鈥� he told 麻豆传媒.
