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 Earthquake Damages> Eastern-Nepal Earthquake

 
 
Eastern-Nepal Earthquake, 1988

The earthquake (1988 Eastern-Nepal Earthquake) took place in the Nepal-India border region at latitude 26.7550N, longitude 86.6160E in the early morning (4:39 Indian ; 4:54 Nepalese time) of 21 August 1988 (23:09:10.3, 20 August Greenwich time). This earthquake experienced in the southeastern zone of Nepal close to the border of the State of Bihar, India registered 6.6 on the Richter Scale according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its focal depth was assumed to be 57 km.

As the magnitude of this earthquake was less than 7 on the Richter scale, most damage took place in areas around the reported epicentral region in the northern part of Bihar State, India close to the border with Nepal and in the southeastern zone of Nepal along the Himalaya Mountains close to the border with India. Damage to the structural systems of buildings was limited to nonengineered types of rural housing constructed of clay bricks or of stones cemented with mud mortar, the seismic qualities of which are judged to be poor. The number of engineered buildings is very limited in these areas, but we found no major structural damage done to engineered buildings made of reinforced concrete with or without filled-in brick masonry walls.
  
 Table   

 
    Casualty statistics by district in Nepal based on the census population (Letter from S. Malla, Nepalese Government)
   

Zone

District Deaths Serious Minor Private Houses Public  Buildings
Injury Injury colla-
psed
dam-
aged
Total colla-
psed
dam-
aged
Total
Mechi Taplejung 3 7 28 767 293 1060   - 12 12
  Panchthar 99 261

311

5244 6804 12048 94 2 96
  Jhapa - 19

11

31

163

194

4

20

24

  Ilam 73 129 312 5918 5538 11456 181 88 269
Kosi Sankhuwa Sabha   12 46

1

1944 704 2648 39 10 49
  Terhathum 67 76 62 4481 3296 7777 25 26 51
  Dhankuta 93 154 724 7277 2384 9661 47 59 106
  Bhojpur 14 88 118 2956 3114 6070 21 - 21
  Morang 32 941 233 637 852 1489 38 38 76
  Sunsari 138 327 1790 2494 4466 6960 11 22 33
Sagarmatha Okhaldhunga 8 28 108 2162 3137 5299 7 12 19
  Udayapur 82 70 453 5457 3933 9390 27 20 47
  Saptari 13 45 80 1263 1138 2401 24 28 52
  Siraha 8 41 - 76 1279 1355 10 58 68
  Khotang 26 140 275 7919 7143 15062 10 11 21
  Solukhumbu - 4 - 297 341 638 2 1 3
Janakpur Dhanusha 2 3 25 375 306 681 - 55 55
  Mahottari 1 2 18 26 4 30 - 38 38
  Sindhuli 32 33 209 1670 1177 2847 11 25 36
  Dolakha 2 5 14 268 933 1201 21 19 40
  Ramechhap

2

1 32 589 1800 2389 10 31 41
Narayani Bara - - - - - - - - -
Bagmati Kathmandu - - 3 - 200 200 - 19 19
  Lalitpur 1 3 22 376 137 513 - 3 3
  Bhaktapur 7 23 20 274 1477 1751 - 11 11
  Kavre - - - - 5 5 - 1 1
  Sindhupalchok 2 4 30 711 478 1189 22 38 60
  Total 717 2450 4879 53212 51102 104314 604 647 1251

Table source from: "Reconnaissance Reprot on the 21 August 1988 Earthquake in the Nepal-India Border region " by T.Fujiwara et al.,1989.
 

  Click on the thumbnail for large view

 
Above photos are provided by Prof. T. Fujiwara.

 
 
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