Citation

Xie Q, Gaohu L, Chen H, Xu C, Feng B. Earthq. Eng. Eng. Vibrat. 2017; 16(3): 649-670.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Institute of Engineering Mechanics (IEM) - China Seismological Bureau, Publisher Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11803-017-0399-4

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Gorkha earthquake in Nepal led to many landslides and severe damage to the transportation infrastructure. After careful comparison of the aerial photographs and satellite images before and after the earthquake, partially verified by a field study, more than 2,064 landslides and many road failures were observed. Many bridges, especially steel-truss and suspension bridges, suffered little damage from inertia loads during the earthquake, but were severely damaged due to rockfalls. Potential geological hazards hindered the delivery of supplies in mountainous areas, and road closures impeded the overall speed of rehabilitation.

Language: en

Keywords

Infrastructure; Nepal; Highway bridges; Landslides; Earthquakes; Geotechnical engineering; Inertia (Mechanics); Loss and damage; Rockfalls; Seismicity; Street closure