Govt to set up 10 more seismic stations

Kathmandu, Aug 20: The government has launched programmes to install new seismic stations and update the existing ones.

The country currently has 21 seismic stations.   

Following the devastating earthquakes in April and May last year, scientists and experts urged the government to install additional stations in the remaining locations.

Deputy Director General of the Department of Mines and Geology (DMG) Dr. Somnath Sapkota informed that the French government had been working to upgrade the existing 21 seismic stations into digital technology while China had signed agreement with Nepal to set up new 10 stations in various locations in the country.

A seismic station at Odhare, Dhankuta

According to the Ministry of Industry, the new project to establish seismic stations will be implemented by the end of this year and the work would be completed in three years.

“High mountains and Himalayan region in the country lack seismic stations while some regions in the hills and plains also need such stations,” said Dr. Sapkota.

China has shown interest in establishing seismic stations in the Himalayan region which was later reflected in the assistance it pledged to Nepal for the post-quake reconstruction.

Likewise, the quakes last year forced the government to upgrade the existing stations based on analog technology into digital.

“The digital devices can be controlled remotely. Unless there is a physical damage in the machines, it can be managed and troubleshoot from the central control station. Similarly, it is difficult to get human resources for the old technology,” stated Dr. Sapkota.

The stations were established with the assistance from the French government.

The first seismic station in the country was installed on the top of Phulchoki hill in 1978 with the financial assistance from France.

In the second phase, stations were established in Kakani of Nuwakot and Daman of Makwanpur, and in Sindhupalchowk and Gorkha in the third phase.

In 1995, Nepal had 17 seismic stations.

Later on four stations were established in the Karnali river basin after the government proposed the Karnali High Dam project and the country had 21 stations by 1998.

With the installation of 31 digital seismic stations, including the Himalayan region, and the southern part of Tibet, it will be easier to create basic database of the earthquakes.