Building damage survey and microtremor measurements for the source region of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake

Abstract

We performed a damage survey of buildings and carried out microtremor observations in the source region of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Our survey area spans the Kathmandu valley and areas to the east and north of the valley. Damage of buildings in the Kathmandu valley was localized, and the percentage of the totally collapsed buildings was less than 5 %. East of the Kathmandu valley, especially in Sindhupalchok district, damage of buildings was more severe. In the center of Chautara and Bahrabise, towns in Sindhupalchok district, the percentage of the totally collapsed houses exceeded 40 %. North of the Kathmandu valley, the damage was moderate, and 20–30 % of the buildings were totally collapsed in Dhunche. Based on the past studies and our microtremor observations near the strong motion station, the H/V spectrum in Kathmandu has a peak at around 0.3 Hz, which reflects the velocity contrast of the deep sedimentary basin. The H/V spectra in Bahrabise, Chautara, and Dhunche do not show clear peaks, which suggests that the sites have stiff soil conditions. Therefore, the more severe damage outside the Kathmandu valley compared with the relatively light damage levels in the valley is probably due to the source characteristics of the earthquake and/or the seismic performance of buildings, rather than the local site conditions.