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stronger ground shaking as a result. Three-dimensional visualiza-       REFERENCES CITED                                                                           GSA TODAY | www.geosociety.org/gsatoday
tion approaches linking framework- and event-analysis using
seismic, geodetic, and structural data indicates that initial seismo-   Acharya, S.P., Dixit, A.M., and Tucket, B.E., 2015, Nepal’s school earthquake safety
logical data failed to constrain the geometry of the source fault             program: Past accomplishments, future challenges: Geological Society of
and the reported uncertainties are unrealistic (Carena and                    America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-14.
Verdecchia, 2015).
                                                                        Andermann, C., Behling, R., Cook, K.L., Emberson, R., Hovius, N., Marc, O.,
  Among the large unknowns are the details of the subsurface                  Motagh, M., Roessner, S., Sens-Schoenfelder, C., and Turowski, J.M., 2015,
structure in Nepal. A systematic program of reflection seismic                Landscape response to the MW 7.9 Gorkha earthquake: Geological Society of
profiling and targeted 3D reflection imaging that spans past and              America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-12.
potential future rupture zones would help assess continuing
hazard (Brown et al., 2015). This should include partnerships with      Avouac, J.-P., Meng, L., Melgar, D., Wei, S., Wang, T., Bock, Y., Ampuero, J.-P.,
Nepal (Upreti, 2015) and build upon both existing resources,                  Stevens, V., Galetzka, J., and Genrich, J., 2015, Unzipping of locked MHT by
including dense portable seismic recording systems that reduce                the 2015, MW 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal: Geological Society of America
costs. The focus should be on fault-system geometry and struc-                Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-2.
tures that may control rupture segmentation and for time-lapse
imaging for rupture zone reflectivity.                                  Bendick, R., Mencin, D., Knappe, E., Upreti, B., Aoudia, A., Galetzka, J., and
                                                                              Bilham, R., 2015, Incomplete decollement rupture in the 25 April 2015
DAMAGE                                                                        Gorkha earthquake: Implications for postseismic processes: Geological
                                                                              Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-6.
  The Gorkha earthquake caused ~9,000 deaths and ~25,000
injuries (Gallen et al., 2015). The destruction was extensive for       Brown, L., Behera, L., Hubbard, J., Karplus, M., and Klemperer, S., 2015, Seismic
larger structures in Kathmandu (Acharya et al., 2015; Poudel, 2015),          reflection imaging of the Himalayan seismogenic zone: Past experience and
but moderate ground motions limited urban impact. Destabilized                future strategies: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,
hillslopes and weakened soil horizons present an ongoing threat               v. 47, no. 7, abstract 140-1.
(Andermann et al., 2015; Gallen et al., 2015). More than 60% of
the villages in central Nepal, which are located on near-threshold      Carena, S., and Verdecchia, A., 2015, 3D visualization of geologic, geodetic, and
or threshold dip slopes, are at high risk (Ojha and DeCelles, 2015).          seismic data from the April-May 2015 Nepal, earthquake doublet: Geological
The main industry affected by the earthquake is agriculture, which            Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-4.
is the primary occupation of rural communities, even along steep
Himalayan slopes (Poudel, 2015). More than 6,000 schools                Decelles, P.G., 2015, Structural-kinematic setting of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal
collapsed, but because the earthquake occurred on a Saturday, the             earthquakes: Lessons from a critically tapered orogenic wedge: Geological
vulnerability of most Nepali schools remains underappreciated                 Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-9.
(Acharya et al., 2015).
                                                                        Elliott, J.R., Jolivet, R., Gonzalez, P., Avouac, J.-P., Hollingsworth, J., Searle, M.P.,
  Nepali national capacity is building (Upreti, 2015). Acharya et al.         and Stevens, V., 2015, Geometry of the Main Himalayan Thrust revealed by
(2015) discussed the Kathmandu Valley Earthquake Risk                         the Gorkha earthquake: Geological Society of America Abstracts with
Management Project, initiated in 1995 by the National Society for             Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-5.
Earthquake Technology of Nepal and GeoHazards International
to train local masons to retrofit 300 schools. Ninety percent of these  Gallen, S.F., Clark, M.K., Niemi, N., Lupker, M., Gajurel, A.P., West, A.J., Lowe, K.,
schools are in areas affected by the Gorkha earthquake, and all               and Roback, K., 2015, Coseismic landslide hazards and geomorphic
survived without significant damage. Nepal plans to repair                    consequences of the MW 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal: Geological Society of
collapsed schools at a rate of 1,200/year, a massive economic and             America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-11.
social challenge because time pressure is at odds with construc-
tion training and standards. Overcoming local apprehension of           Khattri, K.N., and Tyagi, A.K., 1983, Seismicity patterns in the Himalayan plate
retrofitting and building confidence in Nepali communities                    boundary and identification of areas of high seismic potential:
regarding geosciences education requires major effort. Stone                  Tectonophysics, v. 96, p. 281–297, doi:10.1016/0040-1951(83)90222-6.
masonry houses are common throughout the Himalayas, which
can collapse instantaneously even during moderate earthquakes.          Lay, T., 2015, Seismological characteristics of the 25 April 2015 MW 7.9 Gorkha,
Inexpensive ways to retrofit and design these homes will save lives.          Nepal earthquake: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,
                                                                              v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-3.
  A GIS-based inventory of natural resources and crop produc-
tion practices in the region affected by the earthquake was             Lippert, P.C., Van Hinsbergen, D.J.J., Huang, W., and Dupont-Nivet, G., 2015, A
proposed as a first step in rebuilding rural Nepal (Poudel, 2015).            great greater India: A paleomagnetic perspective on the amount of Cenozoic
The convergence zone poses a transnational hazard, and opportu-               subduction and underthrusting within the central Himalaya: Geological
nities exist to use this event as an impetus to inform decision               Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7, p. 105-1.
making in other countries exposed to the potential of large earth-
quakes. Investments in earthquake disaster response and recovery        Ohja, T.P., and DeCelles, P.G., 2015, Landslide distribution before and after the
compared with preparedness and mitigation are unbalanced and                  2015 Gorkha earthquakes in central Nepal: Relationships with dip slopes and
require immediate change.                                                     villages: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7,
                                                                              abstract 105-10.

                                                                        Poudel, D.D., 2015, Development of Nepal Argo-Industrial information systems
                                                                              (NAIS): The first-step in rebuilding Gorkha earthquake devastated rural
                                                                              Nepal: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47, no. 7,
                                                                              abstract 140-2.

                                                                        Taylor, M.H., and Murphy, M., 2015, Segmentation of the Himalayan arc- the
                                                                              effects of collision obliquity on the development of active faults and earth-
                                                                              quake potential: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,
                                                                              v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-8.

                                                                        Upreti, B.N., 2015, Gorkha earthquake 2015 Nepal: Present knowledge and future
                                                                              research direction: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,
                                                                              v. 47, no. 7, abstract 105-13.

                                                                        Wesnousky, S.G., Angester, S., Pierce, I., Fielding, E.J., Chamlagain, D., Upreti, B.,
                                                                              Gautam, D., Kumahara, Y., and Nakata, T., 2015, Interpretation of past and
                                                                              ongoing paleoseismic investigations along the Himalayan frontal thrust in
                                                                              context of brief field reconnaissance after the M7.8 April 25, 2015 Gorkha
                                                                              earthquake: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 47,
                                                                              no. 7, abstract 105-7.

                                                                        Manuscript received 17 Dec. 2015; accepted 1 Mar. 2016. q

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