Today in Earthquake History

On April 25th...

• M7.8 - Near Kathmandu, Nepal, 2015

  At least 8,669 people killed, 384 missing, 17,866 injured, 500,717 houses destroyed and 269,190 damaged in Nepal in this earthquake and the M 7.3 aftershock on May 12 at 07:05 UTC. Included in the casualties are 180 people killed from the collapse of Nepal's historic Dharahara Tower and 20 people killed and 120 injured from an avalanche at the Mount Everest Base Camp. Landslides occurred and roads and power lines damaged in Nepal. Felt (VIII) at Bhimeshwar, Kathmandu and Kirtipur; (VII) at Bhaktapur, Bharatpur, Bidur, Ghorahi, Lalitpur and Pokhara. Damage estimates exceed 5 billion US dollars. At least 78 people killed and 560 injured in India. Felt (VII) at Nautanwa and (VI) at Patna and Shiliguri. At least 25 people killed, 4 missing, 383 injured, 2,500 houses destroyed and 24,700 damaged in China. Four people killed, 200 injured and 17 buildings damaged in Bangladesh. Felt (V) at Bhaluka and (IV) at Dhaka, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Tangail and Tungi. Felt (IV) at Thimphu, Bhutan. Felt in much of western Bangladesh, northern India, central Nepal and parts of Bhutan. Felt as far as Kahuta, Pakistan.

• M7.2 - Cape Mendocino, California, 1992

  Ninety-eight people injured and considerable damage in southwestern Humboldt County. Preliminary estimate of damage in this area from the series of earthquakes is 66 million U.S. dollars. Maximum intensities (VIII) at Ferndale, Honeydew, Petrolia, Rio Dell and Scotia; (VII) at Fortuna and Loleta; (VI) at Eureka. Landslides and rockfalls occurred in the Honeydew-Petrolia area. Liquefaction was noted in areas of the Eel and Mattole River Valleys. Felt throughout much of northern California as far south as San Francisco and southeast to Carson City and Reno, Nevada. Also felt in many areas of southern Oregon. Strong-motion records indicate peak horizontal accelerations of 1.3g at Cape Mendocino and 0.69g at Petrolia. A tsunami was generated with maximum wave heights (peak-to-trough) of 1.1 m. at Crescent City, 0.2 m. at Arena Cove and 0.17 m. at Pt. Reyes, California; 0.2 m. at Port Orford, Oregon; 0.15 m. at Kahului and 0.1 m. at Hilo, Hawaii. One of the largest earthquakes in the United States.

• M5.0 - Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 1966

  Local time: April 26.
  At Tashkent, 10 were killed, 1,000 were injured, and about 100,000 were left homeless. 28,000 buildings were destroyed, including 200 hospitals and clinics, and 180 schools, in the Old Quarter of Tashkent, the principal damage area. Thousands of the ancient, one-story adobe dwellings were flattened. Additional damage was sustained from the hundreds of aftershocks which followed.
  Abridged from United States Earthquakes, 1966.