Estimation of Distribution of Ground Motion in the Affected Region due to the 2015 Gurkha Earthquake by the Use of Structural Damage and Fragility Function of Buildings in Nepal

Abstract

The magnitude 7.8 Gurkha, Nepal Earthquake in 2015 killed over 9,500 people including surrounding countries. Even after one year, high-resolution ground motion distribution has not been identified due to the small number of seismic observation points. This study develops a new approach to estimate the distribution of earthquake ground motion by integrating remote sensing technology and earthquake engineering. First, visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite images was conducted to estimate building damage in the affected areas. Next, the distribution of Peak Ground Acceleration （PGA） was estimated by use of the fragility function.