The seismic waves of the series of strong tremors that struck Nepal on April 25 were so powerful that they were recorded even in Malta. The main shock had a magnitude of 7.8, followed by two relatively strong aftershocks of magnitude 6.7 (red circles on global map).
Nepal has a long history of destructive earthquakes: a 6.7-magnitude quake struck on August 20, 1988, and a magnitude eight quake on January 15, 1934. Other earthquakes were recorded centuries earlier in 1833, 1810, 1681, 1408 and 1255. The 1934 earthquake was the most devastating one to ever occur in Nepal with over 16,000 casualties.
The earthquakes in Nepal are a result of the ongoing continental collision between India and Eurasia; India is moving northward by about 5cm per year.
The seismicity in the Mediterranean was normal compared to previous months. Three earthquakes struck close to Malta on April 13, 25, and 29 (red stars).
No felt reports were submitted to the University’s Seismic Monitoring and Research Unit ( http://seismic.research.um.edu.mt ).