The Earthquake That Should Have Killed Thousands
🌋 The Earthquake That Should Have Killed Thousands
Five years later, on 25 April 2015, a much weaker earthquake — magnitude 7.8 — struck Nepal. Buildings collapsed across the Kathmandu Valley. Ancient temples that had stood for five centuries crumbled in seconds. Around 9,000 people were killed and 2.8 million were made homeless. In the remote mountain villages, rescue teams could not reach survivors for three days.
Chile's earthquake was 32 times more powerful. Nepal's killed 16 times more people. Why the difference? The answer is not geology — it is wealth, governance, and the choices societies make before disaster strikes.
Geography glossary
- What is a plate margin?
- The boundary where two tectonic plates meet.
The Earth's outermost layer — the lithosphere — is not a single solid shell. It is broken into roughly 12 large tectonic plates and several smaller ones, all moving slowly across the surface of the planet. This movement is driven by convection currents in the semi-molten mantle below: hot rock rises, spreads outward, c
Earn the mark scheme marks
🧠 Exam Framework: CLEVER
Use this framework to structure any tectonic hazard answer, especially comparisons between two countries:
For plate margin types, use: D.C.C.
- Destructive — subduction — earthquakes AND volcanoes (Chile)
- Collision — crumpling — earthquakes ONLY (Nepal / Himalayas)
- Conservative — sliding — earthquakes ONLY (San Andreas Fault)
- (Constructive — pulling apart — mild earthquakes + shield volcanoes)
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 18
At which type of plate margin do two plates move towards each other, causing one to be forced beneath the other?
Tap an answer to check it
This topic in real past papers
Every real exam question we've found on tectonic hazards, with a full worked answer.
AQA Paper 1
Every sitting we have full papers for ends Section A with a 9 mark level-marked essay, always with 3 SPaG marks on top, but the exact topic alternates between managing or explaining climate change and explaining or evaluating tectonic hazards.
AQA Paper 1
Every sitting we have full papers for includes a 6 mark, three-level judgement question partway through Section A, always instructing students to use the given figure and their own understanding.
AQA Paper 1
Every sitting we have full papers for includes a 4 mark, two-level short explanation partway through Question 1. Three of the four sittings focus on tectonic hazard processes, and June 2023 focuses on climate change effects on people instead.