Nepal Earthquake May Threaten High Country with Landslides in the Following Weeks

Although the initial earthquake in Nepal is over, the country may face dangers for months to come. Following Saturday's magnitude-7.8 earthquake, scientists have announced that Nepal's high country may risk landslides and mudslides in the following weeks.

The researchers looked for locations where landslides likely occurred during the earthquake. They also examined places that are at high risk in the coming weeks and months. Unfortunately, they found tens of thousands of locations at high risk, especially as the monsoon rains arrive this summer.

The researchers analyzed data from satellites for this latest research. The satellites first looked at places where a lot of people live; while Kathmandu and the foothills area to the south don't look to be significantly impacted by landsliding, the high country may be at risk.

"The majority of them, we expect, have already happened and came down all at once with the shaking on Saturday," said Marin Clark, one of the researchers, in a news release. "But there will still be slopes that have not yet failed but were weakened. So there will be a continued risk during aftershocks and with the recent rainfall, and again when the monsoon rains arrive this summer."

The researchers found that the region at highest risk for landslides and mudslides is the mountainous area along the Nepal-Tibet border, north of Kathmandu and west of Mount Everest, directly above the fault rupture. The highest-risk zone is at elevations above 8,200 feet.

"Many small Nepalese villages throughout this region have likely been cut off from the rescue operation," said Clark. "This is also high season for trekking and mountaineering, so I expect there are a large number of foreign tourists there, as well."

The findings are important for targeted rescue efforts in the weeks and months to come. Being able to prepare now will be a huge boon when the monsoon rains come in a few months.

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