Giving context to the recent earthquake in Nepal through studies of historical regional earthquakes and the principle global ones, focusing on magnitude, geographical epicentres, fatalities, building damage and economic impact
The following maps attempt to give context to the ongoing crisis in Nepal as a result of the recent earthquake and aftershocks by studying the history of Nepalese earthquakes from the previous 35 years. The magnitude of the earthquake on the richter scale is marked by spherical diameter.
Studying the earthquake magnitude (richter scale), fatality numbers and building damage of major earthquakes in Nepal from the past 200 years.
Positioned along the fault line of the Indian and Eurasion plates, Nepal is known to undergo major earthquakes every 80 years, interspersed with smaller, less impactful ones. This is clearly evident from the data, and the 81 year time gap between the recent 2015 earthquake and the Great Nepal Bihar earthquake of 1934.
Studying major global earthquakes from the past twenty years. At present the full extent of fatalities in Nepal is yet to be determined, current figures are at 7,675, but predictions are estimated at around 10,000.
Studying the economic impact of countries affected by major earthquakes in the last 20 years. The cost of the earthquake damage is given in US$ billion. Fatalities are shown as a background reference in grey.
It should be noted that the economic impact on a country indicates the initial wealth of the country prior to its disaster state. E.g. Haiti is listed by the world bank as a country of low-income economy, hence financial losses of a relatively small "global scale", may have greater impact on a country's economy than is apparent