This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
1 min Read
The 7.8 magnitude Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015 and subsequent aftershocks caused more than 8,500 fatalities, nearly 22,500 injured, and damaged thousands of buildings. The powerful quake also left potential secondary hazard risk from landslides and glacial lake outbursts threatening the lives and livelihood of people living the mountainous region. Langtang Valley was one of the worst hit by the earthquake, when a massive snow and ice avalanche triggered by the quake swept the entire valley leaving few survivors.
ICIMOD researchers visited Langtang Valley on 12 May and again 4-9 June to assess geo-hazards in the area and to determine the status of research stations located there. Seven out of eight meteorological stations operated by ICIMOD and its partners were found to be substantially damaged. A task force of ICIMOD researchers is working with NASA to assess landslide and river blockage in the earthquake affected area.
The task force found that in the aftermath of the earthquake, villages in the Langtang valley were destroyed by a combination of air blasts sweeping down the steep slopes of the valley, landslides, and avalanches. The avalanches made of snow and ice mixed with rock material accelerated on the way down the steep valley slopes, displacing the air to create a strong air blast. As a result the eight highest villages in the Langtang Valley — Thyangshyup, Tsarding, Chamki, Gumba, Langtang, Mundu, Singdum, and Kyangjing — were completely destroyed and buried under the avalanche debris. Early analysis of photographs and satellite imagery suggests the size of the avalanches was due in part to debris and ice accumulation above Langtang Village at 4500 meters through small ice avalanches and rock fall from Langtang-Lirung.
The Task Force continues to study and analyse the destruction in Langtang caused by the earthquake and the subsequent avalanches, landslides, and pressure waves to evaluate and map hazards in the future.
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
Related Contents
Though a few biodiversity monitoring manuals and guidelines from the Government of Nepal (GoN), National Trust for Nature Conservation (
On Sunday, 4 December 2016, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts ...
Rising emissions of air pollutants from urban, industrial, and rural sources have been steadily affecting the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) ...
More than a hundred local community members participated in a training workshop in late January to learn about management of ...
We visited four government agencies in the district: the District Forest Office (DFO), the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), the ...
Aspects related to climate change and other drivers of change in the Salween and Mekong basins and in the Tibetan ...
Linking livelihoods and gender issues in the Koshi river basin can improve water resource management, was the key message of ...
At the fair, the Brazilian Ambassador to Nepal Maria Teresa Mesquita Pêssoa visited the Himalica stall and tasted the cardamom ...