Shiba Subedi

The 2015 Mw 7.9 Gorkha earthquake severely affected 40 % of Nepal's districts, damaging ~7,200 school buildings and ~30,000 classrooms. As Nepal remains highly susceptible to large earthquakes, improving earthquake awareness and preparedness among students and teachers is essential. Since 2018, the Seismology at School in Nepal (SASIN) program has promoted earthquake education through school-based outreach activities. This study presents the first comprehensive school-based seismic risk assessment in Nepal, evaluating 24 schools in western Nepal to (1) assess the seismic risk of school buildings and classrooms, (2) identify structural and non-structural vulnerabilities, and (3) propose practical, low-cost measures for earthquake risk reduction. The assessment integrates information from school authorities, qualitative assessments, systematic visual inspections, and a newly developed Earthquake Evacuation Drill Guide tailored to local contexts. A total of 730 classrooms were classified into four seismic risk categories: low (35 %), medium (35 %), high (17 %), and very high (13 %). Buildings constructed after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake generally showed lower vulnerability, whereas older buildings or those not complying with the National Building Code accounted for most medium, high, and very-high risk categories. The proposed framework supports priority setting, low-cost risk reduction strategies, and safer, more resilient school environments throughout Nepal. These kinds of classroom earthquake risk assessments are highly recommended in all schools in Nepal and across the Himalayan region.

The 2015 Mw 7.9 Gorkha earthquake severely affected 40 % of Nepal's districts, damaging ~7,200 school buildings and ~30,000 classrooms. As Nepal remains highly susceptible to large earthquakes, improving earthquake awareness and preparedness among students and teachers is essential. Since 2018, the Seismology at School in Nepal (SASIN) program has promoted earthquake education through school-based outreach activities. This study presents the first comprehensive school-based seismic risk assessment in Nepal, evaluating 24 schools in western Nepal to (1) assess the seismic risk of school buildings and classrooms, (2) identify structural and non-structural vulnerabilities, and (3) propose practical, low-cost measures for earthquake risk reduction. The assessment integrates information from school authorities, qualitative assessments, systematic visual inspections, and a newly developed Earthquake Evacuation Drill Guide tailored to local contexts. A total of 730 classrooms were classified into four seismic risk categories: low (35 %), medium (35 %), high (17 %), and very high (13 %). Buildings constructed after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake generally showed lower vulnerability, whereas older buildings or those not complying with the National Building Code accounted for most medium, high, and very-high risk categories. The proposed framework supports priority setting, low-cost risk reduction strategies, and safer, more resilient school environments throughout Nepal. These kinds of classroom earthquake risk assessments are highly recommended in all schools in Nepal and across the Himalayan region.

The 2015 Mw 7.9 Gorkha earthquake severely affected 40 % of Nepal's districts, damaging ~7,200 school buildings and ~30,000 classrooms. As Nepal remains highly susceptible to large earthquakes, improving earthquake awareness and preparedness among students and teachers is essential. Since 2018, the Seismology at School in Nepal (SASIN) program has promoted earthquake education through school-based outreach activities. This study presents the first comprehensive school-based seismic risk assessment in Nepal, evaluating 24 schools in western Nepal to (1) assess the seismic risk of school buildings and classrooms, (2) identify structural and non-structural vulnerabilities, and (3) propose practical, low-cost measures for earthquake risk reduction. The assessment integrates information from school authorities, qualitative assessments, systematic visual inspections, and a newly developed Earthquake Evacuation Drill Guide tailored to local contexts. A total of 730 classrooms were classified into four seismic risk categories: low (35 %), medium (35 %), high (17 %), and very high (13 %). Buildings constructed after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake generally showed lower vulnerability, whereas older buildings or those not complying with the National Building Code accounted for most medium, high, and very-high risk categories. The proposed framework supports priority setting, low-cost risk reduction strategies, and safer, more resilient school environments throughout Nepal. These kinds of classroom earthquake risk assessments are highly recommended in all schools in Nepal and across the Himalayan region.

The 2015 Mw 7.9 Gorkha earthquake severely affected 40 % of Nepal's districts, damaging ~7,200 school buildings and ~30,000 classrooms. As Nepal remains highly susceptible to large earthquakes, improving earthquake awareness and preparedness among students and teachers is essential. Since 2018, the Seismology at School in Nepal (SASIN) program has promoted earthquake education through school-based outreach activities. This study presents the first comprehensive school-based seismic risk assessment in Nepal, evaluating 24 schools in western Nepal to (1) assess the seismic risk of school buildings and classrooms, (2) identify structural and non-structural vulnerabilities, and (3) propose practical, low-cost measures for earthquake risk reduction. The assessment integrates information from school authorities, qualitative assessments, systematic visual inspections, and a newly developed Earthquake Evacuation Drill Guide tailored to local contexts. A total of 730 classrooms were classified into four seismic risk categories: low (35 %), medium (35 %), high (17 %), and very high (13 %). Buildings constructed after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake generally showed lower vulnerability, whereas older buildings or those not complying with the National Building Code accounted for most medium, high, and very-high risk categories. The proposed framework supports priority setting, low-cost risk reduction strategies, and safer, more resilient school environments throughout Nepal. These kinds of classroom earthquake risk assessments are highly recommended in all schools in Nepal and across the Himalayan region.

The 2015 Mw 7.9 Gorkha earthquake severely affected 40 % of Nepal's districts, damaging ~7,200 school buildings and ~30,000 classrooms. As Nepal remains highly susceptible to large earthquakes, improving earthquake awareness and preparedness among students and teachers is essential. Since 2018, the Seismology at School in Nepal (SASIN) program has promoted earthquake education through school-based outreach activities. This study presents the first comprehensive school-based seismic risk assessment in Nepal, evaluating 24 schools in western Nepal to (1) assess the seismic risk of school buildings and classrooms, (2) identify structural and non-structural vulnerabilities, and (3) propose practical, low-cost measures for earthquake risk reduction. The assessment integrates information from school authorities, qualitative assessments, systematic visual inspections, and a newly developed Earthquake Evacuation Drill Guide tailored to local contexts. A total of 730 classrooms were classified into four seismic risk categories: low (35 %), medium (35 %), high (17 %), and very high (13 %). Buildings constructed after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake generally showed lower vulnerability, whereas older buildings or those not complying with the National Building Code accounted for most medium, high, and very-high risk categories. The proposed framework supports priority setting, low-cost risk reduction strategies, and safer, more resilient school environments throughout Nepal. These kinds of classroom earthquake risk assessments are highly recommended in all schools in Nepal and across the Himalayan region.

Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) provides dense and temporally continuous measurements of ground deformation, offering a robust framework for investigating, among other phenomena, earthquake-related surface deformation. However, most satellite-based investigations of large earthquakes remain focused on coseismic interferograms, source inversions, and short post-seismic observation windows. In this study, we propose a PSI-based parametric approach that, given a Persistent Scatterer (PS) time series, uses a piecewise linear regression with an imposed coseismic step at the earthquake origin time to estimate the pre-event line-of-sight (LOS) velocity, the coseismic displacement step, and the post-event LOS velocity using ascending and descending satellite observations. The methodology is applied to the 7 January 2025 M_w 7.1 Dingri earthquake (southern Tibet), a recent large normal-faulting event for which previous studies have documented complex rupture behavior and significant co- and post-seismic surface deformation. The results show that our PSI-based approach enables, within a single framework, the isolation of the coseismic jump, the quantification of post-event velocity patterns, and the systematic comparison of pre- and post- event deformation. In addition, the combination of ascending and descending datasets yields a first-order reconstruction of the vertical and east–west deformation components. The proposed approach complements physics-based source modeling by offering a scalable, observation-driven, and point-wise characterization of deformation evolution.

On 26 August 2026, a massive slope failure in the Himalaya caused a destructive flash-flood all along the Trishuli River. Here we report the first complete set of related seismic observations from Nepal and China. Using first-arrivals of high-frequency waveforms, we localize the main mass-movement and a nearby M2.5 seismic event shortly preceding it. The flash-flood increased seismic noise levels, persisting for hours. We report global seismic detections of the main event. Ultimately, we argue that a regional seismic monitoring network coupled with a signal detection and classification system would provide an early warning tool for future high-risk events.

The Increasing Earthquake Awareness in Switzerland project set out to connect students, teachers, and the wider public with earthquake science by reviving and extending the nationwide seismo@school initiative. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) AGORA programme, the project developed a suite of multilingual teaching resources, deployed near real-time seismic sensors in schools, and created hands-on activities such as the Lambda Slinky Seismometer kit to engage 12- to 18-year-olds. Although Switzerland is exposed to only moderate seismic hazard, earthquakes remain the natural hazard with the highest damage potential. Because most residents have never experienced a damaging earthquake, educational programmes play a crucial role in raising awareness and strengthening preparedness. Moreover, seismo@school initiatives can inspire younger generations to pursue geosciences by helping them appreciate the relevance of the field. This article presents the rationale, implementation, and impact of the project, and may serve as a guide for other countries seeking to develop similar initiatives. It examines how experiential, data-driven educational approaches can improve earthquake awareness and preparedness in moderate-hazard regions, how school-based seismometers benefit both teaching and scientific monitoring while considering the practical challenges of installation and operation, and what institutional and policy conditions are required to sustain such efforts over the long term.

The Increasing Earthquake Awareness in Switzerland project set out to connect students, teachers, and the wider public with earthquake science by reviving and extending the nationwide seismo@school initiative. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) AGORA programme, the project developed a suite of multilingual teaching resources, deployed near real-time seismic sensors in schools, and created hands-on activities to foster engagement of 12 to 18-year-olds. Although Switzerland is exposed to only moderate seismic hazard, earthquakes remain the natural hazard with the highest potential impact. Because most residents have never experienced a damaging earthquake, educational programmes play a crucial role in raising awareness and strengthening preparedness. Moreover, seismo@school initiatives can inspire younger generations to pursue geosciences by helping them appreciate the relevance of the field. This article presents the rationale, implementation, and impact of the project, and may serve as a guide for other countries seeking to develop similar initiatives. It examines how experiential, data-driven educational approaches can improve earthquake awareness and preparedness in moderate-hazard regions, how school-based seismometers benefit both teaching and scientific monitoring while considering the practical challenges of installation and operation, and what institutional and policy conditions are required to sustain such efforts over the long term.