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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:04,604 --> 00:00:08,440 Powerful tremors catch millions by surprise. 2 00:00:08,475 --> 00:00:09,575 There was a very violent earthquake. 3 00:00:09,609 --> 00:00:12,678 NARRATOR: Collapsing buildings kill thousands. 4 00:00:12,712 --> 00:00:14,847 Many are buried alive. 5 00:00:14,881 --> 00:00:16,482 ANDREW OLVERA: And we're going to go ahead and have the rescue squad come in 6 00:00:16,516 --> 00:00:20,619 and help extricate that victim out of the hole. 7 00:00:20,653 --> 00:00:23,288 NARRATOR: It's the biggest quake to happen here in 80 years. 8 00:00:23,323 --> 00:00:24,423 MICHAEL ANDREW: Major earthquake! 9 00:00:24,457 --> 00:00:25,657 We've never seen anything like it! 10 00:00:25,692 --> 00:00:27,226 CLIMBER: Oh, look at that, look at that, look at that! 11 00:00:27,260 --> 00:00:29,595 NARRATOR: The quake triggers a huge avalanche on Mount Everest, 12 00:00:29,629 --> 00:00:31,263 killing 20 people. 13 00:00:31,297 --> 00:00:32,798 PAUL DEVANEY: Whoa, whoa, whoa, inside! 14 00:00:32,832 --> 00:00:36,802 NARRATOR: It's the Himalayan peak's most deadly day. 15 00:00:36,836 --> 00:00:38,070 DAVID BREASHEARS: It looks like what you see 16 00:00:38,104 --> 00:00:42,674 when one of these tornadoes runs right through a place. 17 00:00:42,709 --> 00:00:44,810 I've never seen anything come at us like that before. 18 00:00:44,844 --> 00:00:47,346 NARRATOR: Millions across Nepal are homeless. 19 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:50,082 Many are cut off from the world by landslides. 20 00:00:50,116 --> 00:00:52,017 SURAJ VAIDYA: They've lost all the houses that they had. 21 00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:53,485 The whole village is wiped out. 22 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,290 NARRATOR: Even scientists are stunned by the powerful aftershocks. 23 00:00:58,324 --> 00:00:59,958 Whoa, that was enormous! 24 00:00:59,993 --> 00:01:03,095 ANDREW: Oh my gosh, it's like the whole mountain's coming down! 25 00:01:03,129 --> 00:01:05,597 We've seen just one fraction of a second 26 00:01:05,632 --> 00:01:07,399 in a 50 million year time interval 27 00:01:07,434 --> 00:01:09,034 of building the Himalayas. 28 00:01:09,069 --> 00:01:13,272 NARRATOR: Can they forecast when the next big one will strike? 29 00:01:13,306 --> 00:01:14,506 ROGER BILHAM: You know, it's really scary. 30 00:01:14,541 --> 00:01:16,642 There's no reason why one could not occur 31 00:01:16,676 --> 00:01:19,478 in the next ten years or the next ten minutes. 32 00:01:19,512 --> 00:01:22,448 NARRATOR: The race is on to unravel the mysteries 33 00:01:22,482 --> 00:01:26,051 of the "Himalayan Megaquake," right now on NOVA. 34 00:01:43,903 --> 00:01:51,677 Major funding for NOVA is provided by the following... 35 00:01:51,711 --> 00:01:57,516 In this hilly terrain, almost all arable land is used. 36 00:01:57,550 --> 00:01:59,017 The slopes stretch up 37 00:01:59,052 --> 00:02:02,321 to eight of the world's ten highest mountains. 38 00:02:02,355 --> 00:02:05,357 Each spring, hundreds of mountaineers come 39 00:02:05,391 --> 00:02:09,294 to climb Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. 40 00:02:09,329 --> 00:02:13,298 The birthplace of the Buddha, 41 00:02:13,333 --> 00:02:17,736 Nepal is a peaceful haven for both Buddhists and Hindus. 42 00:02:17,770 --> 00:02:20,806 Ancient palaces stand side-by-side 43 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,842 with even older Hindu temples. 44 00:02:23,877 --> 00:02:31,216 April 25, 2015, 11:56 a.m. 45 00:02:31,251 --> 00:02:33,218 (shouting) 46 00:02:33,253 --> 00:02:38,023 NARRATOR: The earth begins to move 47 00:02:38,057 --> 00:02:41,059 and doesn't let up for a full minute. 48 00:02:41,094 --> 00:02:43,028 (rumbling) 49 00:02:43,062 --> 00:02:48,267 There's no safe place to run. 50 00:02:56,643 --> 00:03:00,012 PAUL DEVANEY: Whoa, whoa, whoa, inside! 51 00:03:00,046 --> 00:03:02,648 NARRATOR: An earthquake rips across the Himalaya... 52 00:03:02,682 --> 00:03:04,116 DEVANEY: Get down, get down, get down, get down! 53 00:03:04,150 --> 00:03:05,117 CLIMBER: Close the door! 54 00:03:05,151 --> 00:03:06,185 DEVANEY: Close the door! 55 00:03:06,219 --> 00:03:08,020 NARRATOR: ...unleashing an avalanche 56 00:03:08,054 --> 00:03:10,022 upon hundreds at Everest's Base Camp. 57 00:03:10,056 --> 00:03:13,258 (rumbling) 58 00:03:15,695 --> 00:03:18,096 I've never seen anything come at us like that before. 59 00:03:18,131 --> 00:03:20,399 Oh my God. 60 00:03:20,433 --> 00:03:21,833 Oh my God! 61 00:03:21,868 --> 00:03:23,101 JOST KOBUSCH: Are you okay? 62 00:03:23,136 --> 00:03:24,503 CLIMBER: Yeah! 63 00:03:24,537 --> 00:03:25,571 WOMAN: Are you all right? 64 00:03:25,605 --> 00:03:26,538 KOBUSCH: Yeah. 65 00:03:32,278 --> 00:03:35,881 NARRATOR: Survivors quickly become rescuers. 66 00:03:35,915 --> 00:03:37,649 (honking) 67 00:03:37,684 --> 00:03:40,219 Makeshift hospitals spring up 68 00:03:40,253 --> 00:03:43,956 to deal with the nearly 18,000 injured. 69 00:03:43,990 --> 00:03:47,092 Many are still buried alive. 70 00:03:47,126 --> 00:03:52,731 Eight-year-old Seema Tamang was trapped under her house. 71 00:03:52,765 --> 00:03:55,601 She can't walk, has a head injury, 72 00:03:55,635 --> 00:03:57,469 but medical care is limited. 73 00:03:59,339 --> 00:04:04,243 NARRATOR: There's a race to find anyone alive in the rubble. 74 00:04:09,716 --> 00:04:13,819 NARRATOR: Since April 25, seismometers across Nepal 75 00:04:13,853 --> 00:04:19,358 have recorded 400 aftershocks of magnitude four or greater. 76 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,610 NARRATOR: Over two million are now homeless. 77 00:04:47,754 --> 00:04:49,755 NARRATOR: Shaking isn't the only threat. 78 00:04:49,789 --> 00:04:51,623 Over 5,000 landslides 79 00:04:51,658 --> 00:04:54,960 have left thousands of villages unreachable. 80 00:04:54,994 --> 00:04:56,962 SURAJ VAIDYA: They're cut off from the rest of Nepal, 81 00:04:56,996 --> 00:04:58,897 and they've lost all the houses that they had. 82 00:04:58,931 --> 00:05:00,399 The whole village is wiped out. 83 00:05:00,433 --> 00:05:02,334 They have supplies for about 11 days. 84 00:05:02,368 --> 00:05:05,270 And she's not sure what she's going to do after 11 days, 85 00:05:05,305 --> 00:05:07,105 but she's hoping that the government will come 86 00:05:07,140 --> 00:05:09,107 and give some sort of rescue, 87 00:05:09,142 --> 00:05:11,310 you know, drop some food up here. 88 00:05:11,344 --> 00:05:13,679 So living for them is extremely, extremely difficult 89 00:05:13,713 --> 00:05:14,646 at this stage. 90 00:05:16,482 --> 00:05:18,383 This used to be a cow shed, 91 00:05:18,418 --> 00:05:20,619 and now what you have is people actually occupying this 92 00:05:20,653 --> 00:05:22,020 for their shelters, yes? 93 00:05:22,055 --> 00:05:24,589 So you see there are four little children up here. 94 00:05:24,624 --> 00:05:26,692 They live up here, you see they live in the middle? 95 00:05:26,726 --> 00:05:29,728 That's how they're living. 96 00:05:29,762 --> 00:05:32,764 NARRATOR: As the death toll rises toward 8,000, 97 00:05:32,799 --> 00:05:37,369 a few miracles emerge from the dust. 98 00:05:37,403 --> 00:05:39,738 Rescuers dig a baby boy out 99 00:05:39,772 --> 00:05:41,873 from underneath his home on day two. 100 00:05:41,908 --> 00:05:45,143 Remarkably, he's unharmed. 101 00:05:48,514 --> 00:05:51,883 This earthquake came without warning. 102 00:05:51,918 --> 00:05:56,088 People in the central mountain villages felt it first. 103 00:05:56,122 --> 00:06:01,460 Then, just 16 seconds later, the shaking reaches the capital. 104 00:06:01,494 --> 00:06:07,899 The waves rock people like a storm at sea. 105 00:06:07,934 --> 00:06:11,470 The tremors take only a minute to reach Mount Everest, 106 00:06:11,504 --> 00:06:13,405 150 miles away. 107 00:06:13,439 --> 00:06:15,307 KOBUSCH: The ground is shaking! 108 00:06:15,341 --> 00:06:17,242 Do you hear that? 109 00:06:17,276 --> 00:06:19,277 NARRATOR: Irish climber Paul Devaney 110 00:06:19,312 --> 00:06:21,980 picks up his camera to record what's happening. 111 00:06:22,014 --> 00:06:24,616 We realized, "Wow, this is an earthquake 112 00:06:24,650 --> 00:06:27,285 and the whole of the base camp is moving pretty violently." 113 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,788 NARRATOR: Then, up above them, 114 00:06:29,822 --> 00:06:33,625 the earthquake dislodges a massive block of snow and ice, 115 00:06:33,659 --> 00:06:35,527 which comes hurtling down. 116 00:06:35,561 --> 00:06:37,162 But they can't see it. 117 00:06:37,196 --> 00:06:39,898 BREASHEARS: I think probably if it had been a clear day, 118 00:06:39,932 --> 00:06:44,770 people would've seen that avalanche much sooner. 119 00:06:44,804 --> 00:06:49,307 NARRATOR: Photographer David Breashears was on the mountain that day. 120 00:06:49,342 --> 00:06:51,877 They had no time by the time they turned around. 121 00:06:51,911 --> 00:06:53,678 CLIMBER 1: Oh, look at that, look at that, look at that. 122 00:06:53,713 --> 00:06:56,915 Oh, look straight ahead. 123 00:06:56,949 --> 00:06:58,817 Ready to go in the tents, or what? 124 00:06:58,851 --> 00:07:00,786 CLIMBER 2: That is immense. 125 00:07:00,820 --> 00:07:02,654 CLIMBER 1: Look, look, look, look, look! 126 00:07:02,688 --> 00:07:04,356 Ready to go in the tent? 127 00:07:09,061 --> 00:07:12,464 NARRATOR: The climbers have a few seconds to decide where to run. 128 00:07:12,498 --> 00:07:15,300 I'd say within about 50 feet of our location, 129 00:07:15,334 --> 00:07:17,903 a massive avalanche was bearing down on us. 130 00:07:17,937 --> 00:07:18,870 KOBUSCH: Oh, oh! 131 00:07:20,873 --> 00:07:22,174 CLIMBER 3: Look, look! 132 00:07:22,208 --> 00:07:24,476 DEVANEY: Whoa, whoa, whoa, inside! 133 00:07:30,149 --> 00:07:32,484 At that point in time, you're just focused on, 134 00:07:32,518 --> 00:07:36,254 "How can I survive this, and will I survive this?" 135 00:07:45,631 --> 00:07:47,799 (panting) 136 00:07:47,834 --> 00:07:50,335 KOBUSCH: Come under my jacket! 137 00:07:50,369 --> 00:07:52,270 Come under my jacket! 138 00:07:52,305 --> 00:07:53,605 Are you okay? 139 00:07:53,639 --> 00:07:54,940 MAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 140 00:07:54,974 --> 00:07:56,208 WOMAN: Are you all right? 141 00:07:56,242 --> 00:07:57,242 MAN: Yeah. 142 00:07:57,276 --> 00:07:59,211 (panting) 143 00:08:03,382 --> 00:08:06,117 DEVANEY: I've never seen anything like that cloud come at us before. 144 00:08:07,753 --> 00:08:09,321 Are you okay? 145 00:08:12,992 --> 00:08:16,795 BREASHEARS: We started to learn, three or four hours later, 146 00:08:16,829 --> 00:08:19,297 that there had been loss of life. 147 00:08:19,332 --> 00:08:23,301 Many casualties, people with serious injuries, 148 00:08:23,336 --> 00:08:26,605 multiple broken bones, concussions. 149 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:31,943 Then every few hours, the death count went up. 150 00:08:31,978 --> 00:08:36,715 These were massive blunt force trauma injuries. 151 00:08:36,749 --> 00:08:40,485 People were blown through the air into rocks. 152 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,890 NARRATOR: Ultimately 20 people die on Everest, 153 00:08:44,924 --> 00:08:50,161 and in the rest of Nepal, the total dead nears 9,000. 154 00:08:50,196 --> 00:08:53,431 News of the devastation travels faster 155 00:08:53,466 --> 00:08:55,600 than the seismic waves themselves. 156 00:08:55,635 --> 00:08:59,571 As the earthquake's waves ripple out, 157 00:08:59,605 --> 00:09:03,241 they hit seismic stations at different times. 158 00:09:03,276 --> 00:09:05,443 It takes 24 minutes for them 159 00:09:05,478 --> 00:09:07,612 to reach the other side of the Earth, 160 00:09:07,647 --> 00:09:10,916 in Colorado, where the U.S. Geological Survey 161 00:09:10,950 --> 00:09:14,419 can compare the time they took to reach each station 162 00:09:14,453 --> 00:09:16,888 and then pinpoint where the waves started-- 163 00:09:16,923 --> 00:09:19,190 the epicenter. 164 00:09:19,225 --> 00:09:23,762 This one started 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu. 165 00:09:23,796 --> 00:09:28,233 But word travels hundreds of times faster via social media. 166 00:09:28,267 --> 00:09:32,804 HARLEY BENZ: We monitor for the word "earthquake" in many languages. 167 00:09:32,838 --> 00:09:35,574 We saw a surge in Twitter traffic. 168 00:09:35,608 --> 00:09:38,577 Realizing it was in a heavily populated area, 169 00:09:38,611 --> 00:09:42,047 an area that we know large earthquakes can do damage, 170 00:09:42,081 --> 00:09:43,949 I was called at home. 171 00:09:43,983 --> 00:09:47,652 Within a few minutes, our seismic sensors 172 00:09:47,687 --> 00:09:49,621 will start seeing this earthquake, 173 00:09:49,655 --> 00:09:52,123 and then we'll locate the earthquake, 174 00:09:52,158 --> 00:09:53,425 determine its magnitude. 175 00:09:53,459 --> 00:09:56,962 NARRATOR: Magnitude is the size of the earthquake 176 00:09:56,996 --> 00:09:58,496 at its source. 177 00:09:58,531 --> 00:10:02,601 This one's 7.8-- sometimes called a "megaquake," 178 00:10:02,635 --> 00:10:05,470 an earthquake that's seven or greater. 179 00:10:05,504 --> 00:10:09,441 Earthquake magnitude is not linear. 180 00:10:09,475 --> 00:10:12,978 The 2010 quake in Haiti at 7.0 181 00:10:13,012 --> 00:10:16,948 had the energy of 32 Hiroshima bombs. 182 00:10:16,983 --> 00:10:22,787 Nepal's 7.8 is more than 15 times stronger, 183 00:10:22,822 --> 00:10:26,758 but not as large as this highly active zone can produce. 184 00:10:28,661 --> 00:10:32,130 Geologist Roger Bilham is a first responder 185 00:10:32,164 --> 00:10:35,767 to most of the world's major earthquakes. 186 00:10:35,801 --> 00:10:37,268 I immediately had a look 187 00:10:37,303 --> 00:10:38,770 to see how much money we had in the bank, 188 00:10:38,804 --> 00:10:41,206 and I purchased a ticket on the next flight to Kathmandu. 189 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:46,244 NARRATOR: He's especially interested in the Himalayan region 190 00:10:46,278 --> 00:10:50,615 because of its unique geologic history. 191 00:10:50,650 --> 00:10:54,085 The earth's crust consists of several tectonic plates. 192 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:58,456 About 50 million years ago, one of them, the Indian plate, 193 00:10:58,491 --> 00:11:03,662 began colliding with Eurasia, gradually forcing it upwards, 194 00:11:03,696 --> 00:11:06,398 creating a massive mountain range-- 195 00:11:06,432 --> 00:11:07,899 the Himalayas. 196 00:11:07,933 --> 00:11:09,901 That's what builds the Himalayas. 197 00:11:09,935 --> 00:11:12,404 Where you have compression of two plates, 198 00:11:12,438 --> 00:11:15,006 the plates initially start to fold and fracture. 199 00:11:15,041 --> 00:11:17,676 The Himalayas is probably the largest collision 200 00:11:17,710 --> 00:11:22,280 that we've seen on the planet for the last 500 million years. 201 00:11:22,314 --> 00:11:25,717 NARRATOR: The Indian plate continues to converge with Tibet 202 00:11:25,751 --> 00:11:28,553 at the rate of 18 millimeters a year. 203 00:11:28,587 --> 00:11:31,956 In some places, the plates stick, 204 00:11:31,991 --> 00:11:33,892 accumulating stress, 205 00:11:33,926 --> 00:11:37,362 which eventually releases all at once in an earthquake. 206 00:11:37,396 --> 00:11:43,868 This is what scientists believe happened on April 25, 2015. 207 00:11:43,903 --> 00:11:46,204 MAN: My god! 208 00:11:46,238 --> 00:11:48,840 SEARLE: We've seen just one fraction of a second 209 00:11:48,874 --> 00:11:52,410 in a 50 million year time interval 210 00:11:52,445 --> 00:11:54,079 of building the Himalayas. 211 00:11:54,113 --> 00:11:58,450 NARRATOR: This blip in the geological timeline 212 00:11:58,484 --> 00:12:01,886 was so powerful, it wiped out thousands of villages. 213 00:12:01,921 --> 00:12:04,589 Rescue has been slow to arrive. 214 00:12:04,623 --> 00:12:07,325 A team of Nepalese athletes and nurses 215 00:12:07,359 --> 00:12:10,595 takes matters into their own hands. 216 00:12:10,629 --> 00:12:12,897 They gather tents, tarps, and food 217 00:12:12,932 --> 00:12:16,301 to deliver to the cut-off villages. 218 00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:39,357 NARRATOR: They're travelling to the district 219 00:12:39,391 --> 00:12:42,127 with the highest death toll: Sindhupalchok. 220 00:12:42,161 --> 00:12:46,264 Few vehicles have passed here since the earthquake. 221 00:12:53,439 --> 00:12:55,907 NARRATOR: They want to get food and medical supplies 222 00:12:55,941 --> 00:12:58,143 as far as the bus will take them. 223 00:12:58,177 --> 00:13:01,780 Then, they'll set up a hospital for survivors. 224 00:13:01,814 --> 00:13:05,083 All homes here are abandoned. 225 00:13:10,389 --> 00:13:12,857 NARRATOR: This road was just dug out 226 00:13:12,892 --> 00:13:15,794 from an earthquake-triggered landslide. 227 00:13:15,828 --> 00:13:20,098 A strong aftershock could cause another. 228 00:13:33,179 --> 00:13:36,481 NARRATOR: They reach the village of Thulo Bhotang. 229 00:13:36,515 --> 00:13:41,486 Over 3,400 people have died in this district. 230 00:14:07,479 --> 00:14:09,981 NARRATOR: They've brought 3,000 pounds of rice and lentils 231 00:14:10,015 --> 00:14:13,051 to feed the villagers. 232 00:14:21,594 --> 00:14:26,064 NARRATOR: Seema Tamang was literally buried alive by the earthquake, 233 00:14:26,098 --> 00:14:30,235 pinned beneath the stones of her home for an entire day. 234 00:14:34,173 --> 00:14:41,079 NARRATOR: Unable to walk, Seema is in a lot of pain. 235 00:14:41,113 --> 00:14:44,148 The doctors believe she could have broken bones. 236 00:14:44,183 --> 00:14:46,184 An x-ray is needed, 237 00:14:46,218 --> 00:14:48,887 so she'll have to be evacuated to Kathmandu. 238 00:15:01,467 --> 00:15:05,470 NARRATOR: 95% of the structures in this district were destroyed, 239 00:15:05,504 --> 00:15:07,906 including Seema's home. 240 00:15:19,385 --> 00:15:21,219 (speaking Nepali) 241 00:15:21,253 --> 00:15:23,054 BHANDARI: 242 00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:39,570 NARRATOR: But among the less lucky ones is this young woman, 243 00:15:39,605 --> 00:15:41,906 whose mother and baby sister died. 244 00:15:44,743 --> 00:15:48,212 (translated): I live in Kathmandu-- I have a job there. 245 00:15:48,247 --> 00:15:50,348 My mother and sister died 246 00:15:50,382 --> 00:15:52,350 in the earthquake. 247 00:15:52,384 --> 00:15:54,652 I came back here, and now I live in a cow shed 248 00:15:54,687 --> 00:15:56,921 with my brothers and sisters. 249 00:15:56,956 --> 00:16:00,191 One brother doesn't even know that mother has passed away. 250 00:16:00,225 --> 00:16:02,293 I haven't been able to tell him. 251 00:16:02,328 --> 00:16:04,195 He's only seven years old. 252 00:16:04,229 --> 00:16:07,031 (sobbing) 253 00:16:12,638 --> 00:16:14,939 I can't stay here because I don't have land here. 254 00:16:14,974 --> 00:16:17,408 Landslides have destroyed all the lands we had. 255 00:16:17,443 --> 00:16:21,245 The earthquake has rendered us homeless. 256 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,848 Sometimes, I wish I were dead, 257 00:16:23,882 --> 00:16:27,418 thinking that it would be better. 258 00:16:27,453 --> 00:16:29,087 This is the house. 259 00:16:29,121 --> 00:16:31,456 We dug mother out the day before. 260 00:16:31,490 --> 00:16:33,358 It was a two-story house. 261 00:16:33,392 --> 00:16:37,061 It went down and it became a rubble. 262 00:16:37,096 --> 00:16:40,164 NARRATOR: Some of the villagers have no family left to care for them. 263 00:16:40,199 --> 00:16:43,835 This man was found collapsed in his home. 264 00:16:43,869 --> 00:16:46,404 BHANDARI: 265 00:16:54,613 --> 00:16:59,717 NARRATOR: Many villagers will move away, for fear of landslides. 266 00:16:59,752 --> 00:17:03,988 Those who stay have nowhere else to go. 267 00:17:09,028 --> 00:17:12,663 NARRATOR: Ang and the nurses have raised just enough money 268 00:17:12,698 --> 00:17:15,600 to call in a helicopter for Seema. 269 00:17:15,634 --> 00:17:19,637 A broken leg left untreated could be fatal. 270 00:17:19,671 --> 00:17:22,874 She and her father have never flown before, 271 00:17:22,908 --> 00:17:26,711 and this flight, through the clouds, is a risky one. 272 00:17:30,182 --> 00:17:35,386 This ambulance is one of Seema's first rides in a vehicle. 273 00:17:35,421 --> 00:17:39,724 She's never been to Kathmandu, and now it's a city in crisis. 274 00:17:45,864 --> 00:17:49,567 This is a military field hospital set up by the Chinese. 275 00:17:49,601 --> 00:17:53,638 One of the few available x-ray machines in Nepal is here. 276 00:17:56,175 --> 00:18:00,645 Surprisingly, Seema's bones are completely intact. 277 00:18:05,617 --> 00:18:08,219 NARRATOR: The stones that were pinning down her leg 278 00:18:08,253 --> 00:18:09,687 may have damaged a nerve. 279 00:18:12,224 --> 00:18:15,760 NARRATOR: She can't move her toes, and without treatment, 280 00:18:15,794 --> 00:18:19,230 she could lose the use of her leg for life. 281 00:18:22,034 --> 00:18:25,036 As the aftershocks continue, everyone is afraid 282 00:18:25,070 --> 00:18:28,940 another large quake will strike soon. 283 00:18:28,974 --> 00:18:32,477 Earthquakes almost always follow patterns. 284 00:18:32,511 --> 00:18:38,282 These photos are from the last big one here, in 1934. 285 00:18:38,317 --> 00:18:40,284 It was at least an 8.0 286 00:18:40,319 --> 00:18:43,020 that ruptured in an area further to the east. 287 00:18:43,055 --> 00:18:45,189 Roger Bilham believes this quake 288 00:18:45,224 --> 00:18:48,559 is a repeat of one that happened in 1833. 289 00:18:48,594 --> 00:18:52,964 It ruptured in the same region with similar impact. 290 00:18:52,998 --> 00:18:54,799 BILHAM: This earthquake enables us 291 00:18:54,833 --> 00:18:57,869 to reinterpret all historical earthquakes, 292 00:18:57,903 --> 00:19:00,304 and our only knowledge of these earthquakes 293 00:19:00,339 --> 00:19:02,540 is how people perceived them. 294 00:19:02,574 --> 00:19:06,410 NARRATOR: Since there were no seismic records in 1833, 295 00:19:06,445 --> 00:19:08,980 Roger had to study newspaper accounts 296 00:19:09,014 --> 00:19:11,082 and travelers' journals. 297 00:19:11,116 --> 00:19:14,452 From those descriptions, he estimated the earthquake 298 00:19:14,486 --> 00:19:18,990 had a magnitude of 7.8, similar to the present-day quake. 299 00:19:19,024 --> 00:19:20,892 Well, suddenly we have an earthquake 300 00:19:20,926 --> 00:19:23,327 that we know about numerically 301 00:19:23,362 --> 00:19:26,697 which has just been felt by a million people, 302 00:19:26,732 --> 00:19:29,967 and those million people have spoken to reporters 303 00:19:30,002 --> 00:19:32,537 and we've now been able to make a catalogue 304 00:19:32,571 --> 00:19:36,974 of hundreds of accounts for this earthquake. 305 00:19:37,009 --> 00:19:39,443 And those accounts can now be translated 306 00:19:39,478 --> 00:19:42,847 into a much more precise numerical evaluation 307 00:19:42,881 --> 00:19:44,649 of historical earthquakes. 308 00:19:44,683 --> 00:19:47,752 NARRATOR: That quake was followed by a series of aftershocks 309 00:19:47,786 --> 00:19:49,420 over two years. 310 00:19:49,454 --> 00:19:54,325 But since 1833, enormous stress has built up along the fault, 311 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:58,362 leading Roger to believe that the 2015 earthquake 312 00:19:58,397 --> 00:20:00,231 should've been larger. 313 00:20:00,265 --> 00:20:01,866 The first thing we thought was, 314 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:03,634 "Gosh, this is smaller than we expected." 315 00:20:03,669 --> 00:20:08,072 NARRATOR: He expected a magnitude eight or higher, 316 00:20:08,106 --> 00:20:12,210 at least double the power of the killer that just struck. 317 00:20:12,244 --> 00:20:16,380 So how much energy is still stored in the fault? 318 00:20:16,415 --> 00:20:21,085 Scientists know that the plates move at 18 millimeters a year. 319 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:25,122 In the 182 years since 1833, 320 00:20:25,157 --> 00:20:27,792 they've moved about three meters. 321 00:20:27,826 --> 00:20:30,728 But in some places, the faults are stuck, 322 00:20:30,762 --> 00:20:32,830 and this lack of movement 323 00:20:32,864 --> 00:20:34,799 creates a predictable amount of strain. 324 00:20:36,802 --> 00:20:39,170 John Galetzka is a geodesist 325 00:20:39,204 --> 00:20:41,939 who measures changes on the surface of the planet. 326 00:20:41,974 --> 00:20:44,442 He can tell how much of the strain 327 00:20:44,476 --> 00:20:49,347 the 2015 earthquake released. 328 00:20:49,381 --> 00:20:51,148 He's flying directly to one of the places 329 00:20:51,183 --> 00:20:52,383 where the two plates, 330 00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:54,885 carrying India and Tibet, are stuck. 331 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:56,854 33 kilometers to Dunche! 332 00:20:56,888 --> 00:20:59,590 NARRATOR: He'll determine just how much the locked plates, 333 00:20:59,625 --> 00:21:03,127 20 kilometers below, lurched forward during the quake. 334 00:21:03,161 --> 00:21:05,997 If they didn't move enough, 335 00:21:06,031 --> 00:21:07,898 there's more stress to be released. 336 00:21:07,933 --> 00:21:09,634 We'll get seismic data! 337 00:21:09,668 --> 00:21:13,204 NARRATOR: GPS stations fixed solidly to the earth's surface 338 00:21:13,238 --> 00:21:14,872 have the answers. 339 00:21:14,906 --> 00:21:16,941 GALETZKA: I'm just going to demonstrate for you 340 00:21:16,975 --> 00:21:19,110 how strong the monument is here. 341 00:21:19,144 --> 00:21:23,381 So really, it's anchored into the earth here, 342 00:21:23,415 --> 00:21:25,416 about a meter and a half or two meters. 343 00:21:25,450 --> 00:21:26,817 Glued in. 344 00:21:26,852 --> 00:21:28,286 Hi-ya! 345 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,656 NARRATOR: This is one of over 50 active GPS stations 346 00:21:31,690 --> 00:21:34,659 placed across the Himalayan arc of Nepal 347 00:21:34,693 --> 00:21:37,928 measuring minute movements of the Earth. 348 00:21:37,963 --> 00:21:41,399 GPS satellites broadcast microwave signals 349 00:21:41,433 --> 00:21:43,401 to stations on the ground. 350 00:21:43,435 --> 00:21:45,903 The GPS stations are so sensitive, 351 00:21:45,937 --> 00:21:50,374 they can detect shifts as small as a millimeter. 352 00:21:50,409 --> 00:21:52,143 Data reveals the earthquake released 353 00:21:52,177 --> 00:21:56,947 only half of the stress that's accumulated since 1833. 354 00:21:56,982 --> 00:22:00,618 This station moved to the south about a meter and a half. 355 00:22:00,652 --> 00:22:03,354 So just to demonstrate, 356 00:22:03,388 --> 00:22:10,428 this station was about right here ten days ago, 357 00:22:10,462 --> 00:22:13,731 and then the earthquake happened, 358 00:22:13,765 --> 00:22:17,635 the earthquake happened, so seismic waves, 359 00:22:17,669 --> 00:22:21,972 and then seismic waves and the tectonic movement, 360 00:22:22,007 --> 00:22:23,741 the plate shifting, 361 00:22:23,775 --> 00:22:27,745 and then the antenna settled to where it is right now. 362 00:22:27,779 --> 00:22:32,516 NARRATOR: This GPS station and others didn't move as much as expected 363 00:22:32,551 --> 00:22:34,785 because the earthquake only ruptured 364 00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:37,321 the lower, deeper part of the fault. 365 00:22:37,356 --> 00:22:40,324 This means a portion of the fault remains loaded 366 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:43,494 with pent-up energy for future earthquakes. 367 00:22:43,528 --> 00:22:45,529 JOHN ELLIOTT: This was a very big earthquake in Nepal, 368 00:22:45,564 --> 00:22:48,332 but it's not the biggest that can happen. 369 00:22:48,367 --> 00:22:50,334 It hasn't relieved all the pressure 370 00:22:50,369 --> 00:22:53,003 across this large faulting area. 371 00:22:53,038 --> 00:22:55,005 There are other bits of the fault 372 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,574 that still need to break in the future. 373 00:22:56,608 --> 00:22:59,810 NARRATOR: Does this mean there's more to come? 374 00:22:59,845 --> 00:23:03,447 This earthquake battery didn't run all the way down. 375 00:23:03,482 --> 00:23:05,716 It's still partially charged, 376 00:23:05,751 --> 00:23:09,854 leaving a reservoir of stress to be tapped by future quakes. 377 00:23:09,888 --> 00:23:13,324 A bigger concern is that there are places along the fault 378 00:23:13,358 --> 00:23:17,862 where no stress was released by this earthquake. 379 00:23:17,896 --> 00:23:20,664 Recent earthquakes have relieved built-up stress 380 00:23:20,699 --> 00:23:22,666 to the east in India, 381 00:23:22,701 --> 00:23:25,503 and also to the west in Pakistan. 382 00:23:25,537 --> 00:23:30,141 But there's an area in between, to the west of Nepal, 383 00:23:30,175 --> 00:23:32,176 that's locked. 384 00:23:32,210 --> 00:23:36,013 This earthquake didn't cause it to budge even a bit. 385 00:23:36,047 --> 00:23:38,783 It's a time bomb waiting to erupt, 386 00:23:38,817 --> 00:23:41,752 where no movement has occurred for centuries. 387 00:23:41,787 --> 00:23:43,087 SEARLE: Unfortunately, 388 00:23:43,121 --> 00:23:46,123 all the strain built up has not been released 389 00:23:46,158 --> 00:23:47,925 and it's still down there, 390 00:23:47,959 --> 00:23:50,761 which means that there is some danger of further earthquakes 391 00:23:50,796 --> 00:23:54,865 to the west of the fault, which still remains locked, 392 00:23:54,900 --> 00:23:55,933 and that's a problem. 393 00:23:55,967 --> 00:23:58,135 NARRATOR: Like a sleeping giant, 394 00:23:58,170 --> 00:24:01,639 the west of Nepal has at least ten meters 395 00:24:01,673 --> 00:24:04,775 of built-up slip stored beneath it. 396 00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:07,678 It last slipped in 1505. 397 00:24:07,712 --> 00:24:12,216 That's 500 years of coiled up potential energy 398 00:24:12,250 --> 00:24:14,084 ready to spring. 399 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,086 BILHAM: You know, it's really scary. 400 00:24:16,121 --> 00:24:17,388 We know earthquakes 401 00:24:17,422 --> 00:24:21,091 as big as 8.6 have occurred in the Himalayas. 402 00:24:21,126 --> 00:24:23,761 There is no reason why one with that magnitude 403 00:24:23,795 --> 00:24:27,465 could not occur in the next ten years 404 00:24:27,499 --> 00:24:29,300 or the next ten minutes. 405 00:24:29,334 --> 00:24:32,136 NARRATOR: The challenge is to now prepare the people 406 00:24:32,170 --> 00:24:34,505 for this potential catastrophe. 407 00:24:34,539 --> 00:24:40,244 It'll be 16 times bigger than the 2015 earthquake. 408 00:24:42,347 --> 00:24:44,181 Day five. 409 00:24:44,216 --> 00:24:46,484 Just as rescuers are losing hope, 410 00:24:46,518 --> 00:24:50,688 they discover a trapped victim still alive. 411 00:24:50,722 --> 00:24:53,657 Volunteers from the Los Angeles County Fire Department 412 00:24:53,692 --> 00:24:55,759 have arrived to help the local police. 413 00:24:55,794 --> 00:24:58,062 ANDREW OLVERA: We were told that there's voices heard 414 00:24:58,096 --> 00:24:59,563 and a void space. 415 00:24:59,598 --> 00:25:01,999 We have a search reconnaissance team with us right now, 416 00:25:02,033 --> 00:25:03,400 and we're going to go ahead 417 00:25:03,435 --> 00:25:04,802 and have the rescue squad come in 418 00:25:04,836 --> 00:25:07,271 and help extricate that victim out of the hole. 419 00:25:07,305 --> 00:25:08,906 NARRATOR: Concrete rescue saws 420 00:25:08,940 --> 00:25:12,843 can cut through what's left of an eight-story building. 421 00:25:12,878 --> 00:25:17,448 Nepal police force inspector Laxman Bahadur Basnet 422 00:25:17,482 --> 00:25:20,784 risks his life to crawl under the tons of rubble. 423 00:25:32,130 --> 00:25:39,603 NARRATOR: They've found a 15-year-old boy entombed in complete darkness. 424 00:25:39,638 --> 00:25:42,806 They battle for five hours to free him. 425 00:25:47,746 --> 00:25:49,313 (shouting) 426 00:25:55,253 --> 00:25:57,054 PEMBA LAMA (translated): I was eating, 427 00:25:57,088 --> 00:25:58,889 and then the earthquake hit. 428 00:25:58,924 --> 00:26:01,225 When I was trying to get out, 429 00:26:01,259 --> 00:26:05,029 the walls broke into pieces and fell on top of me. 430 00:26:05,063 --> 00:26:09,233 I was unconscious at first, 431 00:26:09,267 --> 00:26:12,536 and then I thought it was just a nightmare. 432 00:26:12,571 --> 00:26:14,705 OLVERA: It's what we call an entombment. 433 00:26:14,739 --> 00:26:16,574 So, he wasn't specifically crushed, 434 00:26:16,608 --> 00:26:18,375 but what he was was inside of a box, 435 00:26:18,410 --> 00:26:20,911 a box with heavy concrete all around him. 436 00:26:29,921 --> 00:26:32,256 (cheering) 437 00:26:35,860 --> 00:26:38,095 NARRATOR: Pemba Lama has emerged 438 00:26:38,129 --> 00:26:42,299 into a world dramatically altered. 439 00:26:42,334 --> 00:26:47,671 Earthquakes have the power to instantly reshape the land. 440 00:26:47,706 --> 00:26:50,441 Their most obvious effect is a sudden slip 441 00:26:50,475 --> 00:26:52,409 to one side or another. 442 00:26:52,444 --> 00:26:53,577 What's less obvious 443 00:26:53,612 --> 00:26:57,081 is that the earth can move vertically, too. 444 00:26:57,115 --> 00:27:01,385 Geophysicist John Elliott figures out just how much 445 00:27:01,419 --> 00:27:03,220 using satellite data. 446 00:27:03,254 --> 00:27:04,388 ELLIOTT: Using this data, 447 00:27:04,422 --> 00:27:06,490 we can measure precisely how much 448 00:27:06,524 --> 00:27:08,158 the earth has moved up and down. 449 00:27:08,193 --> 00:27:10,027 Each of these is a contour, 450 00:27:10,061 --> 00:27:12,162 but instead of telling you how high the mountains are, 451 00:27:12,197 --> 00:27:14,999 it tells you how much higher, how much they grew, 452 00:27:15,033 --> 00:27:17,301 or how much they reduced in size. 453 00:27:17,335 --> 00:27:19,269 Each of these is a ten-centimeter contour-- 454 00:27:19,304 --> 00:27:21,038 we have ten of them-- 455 00:27:21,072 --> 00:27:22,640 and this area beneath Kathmandu 456 00:27:22,674 --> 00:27:24,541 actually uplifted by about a meter, 457 00:27:24,576 --> 00:27:26,276 whereas these high mountains north of Kathmandu 458 00:27:26,311 --> 00:27:30,814 actually went down about 70 centimeters. 459 00:27:30,849 --> 00:27:34,752 NARRATOR: The earthquake caused Kathmandu to rise three feet up. 460 00:27:34,786 --> 00:27:38,789 Mount Everest, on the other hand, sank by about an inch. 461 00:27:40,325 --> 00:27:42,593 But it was the side-to-side shaking 462 00:27:42,627 --> 00:27:46,664 on a ridge above Base Camp that triggered the avalanche. 463 00:27:46,698 --> 00:27:51,702 Ultimately, it killed 20 people and injured 120. 464 00:27:51,736 --> 00:27:57,141 But the avalanche only deposited a couple inches of snow in camp. 465 00:27:57,175 --> 00:28:01,111 NARRATOR: So what caused the death and destruction here? 466 00:28:01,146 --> 00:28:03,313 BREASHEARS: This wasn't a normal avalanche. 467 00:28:03,348 --> 00:28:06,884 Some of these tents have thick steel poles. 468 00:28:06,918 --> 00:28:09,386 We later learned that when those things are hit 469 00:28:09,421 --> 00:28:12,923 by a 300 mile-per-hour-plus wind, 470 00:28:12,957 --> 00:28:16,060 they become lethal missiles. 471 00:28:18,196 --> 00:28:22,566 NARRATOR: Scientists in Davos, Switzerland, simulate 472 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:24,935 the physical forces behind avalanches. 473 00:28:24,969 --> 00:28:28,172 But they've never modeled one this extreme. 474 00:28:28,206 --> 00:28:32,443 Yves Buhler and Perry Bartelt want to figure out 475 00:28:32,477 --> 00:28:36,313 exactly how much ice was dislodged above Base Camp 476 00:28:36,347 --> 00:28:38,248 by the earthquake. 477 00:28:38,283 --> 00:28:41,385 David Breashears was able to get them close-up photos 478 00:28:41,419 --> 00:28:44,088 of the ridgeline where the ice calved off. 479 00:28:44,122 --> 00:28:45,923 BREASHEARS: I commissioned a helicopter 480 00:28:45,957 --> 00:28:48,525 to fly directly above Base Camp. 481 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,496 And I flew back and forth with the door open. 482 00:28:52,530 --> 00:28:53,764 BUHLER: Because David is doing 483 00:28:53,798 --> 00:28:56,767 so high-resolution shots we can zoom in. 484 00:28:56,801 --> 00:29:01,438 So this is what we identified as the main release mass. 485 00:29:01,473 --> 00:29:04,041 NARRATOR: The chunks of ice that the earthquake tremors shook 486 00:29:04,075 --> 00:29:06,210 off the ridge above Base Camp 487 00:29:06,244 --> 00:29:11,915 were akin to 100,000 cars plummeting toward camp. 488 00:29:11,950 --> 00:29:16,854 The avalanche took 60 seconds to descend nearly 3,000 feet, 489 00:29:16,888 --> 00:29:21,658 reaching speeds of up to 157 miles an hour. 490 00:29:21,693 --> 00:29:25,329 The impact of the ice mass hitting ground zero 491 00:29:25,363 --> 00:29:29,933 detonated a force comparable to a bomb blast. 492 00:29:29,968 --> 00:29:32,903 One powder cloud jet managed to push its way through 493 00:29:32,937 --> 00:29:35,873 and it shot it directly towards the Base Camp. 494 00:29:35,907 --> 00:29:40,410 NARRATOR: Upon impact, the avalanche kicks up an envelope, 495 00:29:40,445 --> 00:29:45,849 called a "powder cloud," one percent snow and 99% air. 496 00:29:45,884 --> 00:29:48,018 And that's what we observed in the video. 497 00:29:48,052 --> 00:29:51,188 That it was like ejected into the air. 498 00:29:51,222 --> 00:29:54,792 NARRATOR: This powder cloud reached a height of 650 feet. 499 00:29:54,826 --> 00:29:57,895 And just in front of that cloud 500 00:29:57,929 --> 00:30:01,098 blasts an invisible, but deadly, pressure wave. 501 00:30:01,132 --> 00:30:04,835 The Swiss team determined that the force of the pressure wave, 502 00:30:04,869 --> 00:30:06,770 indicated here in red, 503 00:30:06,805 --> 00:30:09,673 was enough to flatten a wooden building. 504 00:30:09,707 --> 00:30:13,310 Many climbers were killed by a violent blast of air 505 00:30:13,344 --> 00:30:16,313 moving at more than 100 miles per hour. 506 00:30:16,347 --> 00:30:17,881 The color is the pressure, 507 00:30:17,916 --> 00:30:19,483 so the pressure that people experienced 508 00:30:19,517 --> 00:30:20,884 when they were there. 509 00:30:20,919 --> 00:30:23,821 And red means the limit where a person gets smashed 510 00:30:23,855 --> 00:30:25,355 against rocks. 511 00:30:25,390 --> 00:30:28,826 NARRATOR: Climber Paul Devaney photographed huge barrels 512 00:30:28,860 --> 00:30:30,494 that were blown from the camp 513 00:30:30,528 --> 00:30:33,864 several hundred meters across the glacier into a gully. 514 00:30:33,898 --> 00:30:38,702 DEVANEY: It's a scene of pretty surreal devastation. 515 00:30:38,736 --> 00:30:41,405 It's like a plane crash or something. 516 00:30:41,439 --> 00:30:43,240 It's hard to imagine what's just happened here 517 00:30:43,274 --> 00:30:45,275 in the last few hours. 518 00:30:45,310 --> 00:30:46,777 (exhales) 519 00:30:46,811 --> 00:30:50,781 NARRATOR: At the same moment, nearly 100 miles away, 520 00:30:50,815 --> 00:30:53,917 a similar, and even more deadly, avalanche 521 00:30:53,952 --> 00:30:56,787 hit the village of Langtang. 522 00:30:56,821 --> 00:30:59,089 David Breashears photomapped the devastation. 523 00:30:59,123 --> 00:31:03,894 BREASHEARS: When I flew in that helicopter up that valley 524 00:31:03,928 --> 00:31:07,297 and over Langtang, I really had a hard time 525 00:31:07,332 --> 00:31:10,267 getting my head around what I was seeing. 526 00:31:10,301 --> 00:31:15,405 An entire village was gone. 527 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:16,840 Obliterated. 528 00:31:16,875 --> 00:31:22,813 Thousands of trees, trees this big around, were flattened, 529 00:31:22,847 --> 00:31:26,884 stripped of their bark and branches. 530 00:31:26,918 --> 00:31:31,421 It looked like what we had seen after the volcanic eruption 531 00:31:31,456 --> 00:31:33,223 of Mount Saint Helens. 532 00:31:33,258 --> 00:31:36,560 NARRATOR: David stood at the place where he had taken a photo 533 00:31:36,594 --> 00:31:41,932 of Langtang in 2012 and shot an exact match. 534 00:31:41,966 --> 00:31:51,208 Over 400 people and 116 homes were lost in an instant. 535 00:31:51,242 --> 00:31:54,945 How could such a colossal event come to pass 536 00:31:54,979 --> 00:31:58,749 without a trace of warning for those below? 537 00:31:58,783 --> 00:32:01,084 (shouting) 538 00:32:01,119 --> 00:32:05,555 NARRATOR: In the village above Langtang, a similar event occurred. 539 00:32:05,590 --> 00:32:08,792 BREASHEARS: This would've been a group of people 540 00:32:08,826 --> 00:32:14,064 who would've gotten out of their buildings and said, "It's okay." 541 00:32:14,098 --> 00:32:16,500 And then they would have no idea 542 00:32:16,534 --> 00:32:19,803 what was coming from 10,000 feet above them. 543 00:32:19,837 --> 00:32:22,072 NARRATOR: They had survived an earthquake, 544 00:32:22,106 --> 00:32:25,742 but out of the clouds came something even more powerful. 545 00:32:25,777 --> 00:32:27,144 MAN: Look, look, look! 546 00:32:27,178 --> 00:32:29,379 WOMAN: Oh, my God! 547 00:32:29,414 --> 00:32:31,548 NARRATOR: The earthquake unleashed multiple avalanches 548 00:32:31,582 --> 00:32:32,816 onto Langtang Valley, 549 00:32:32,850 --> 00:32:36,753 one of the most popular trekking routes in Nepal. 550 00:32:36,788 --> 00:32:40,590 BARTELT: It took the avalanche about 80 seconds after release 551 00:32:40,625 --> 00:32:42,759 to get down to the valley bottom. 552 00:32:42,794 --> 00:32:45,128 And the avalanche reaches tremendous speeds. 553 00:32:45,163 --> 00:32:49,232 And shot out almost directly into the air above Langtang 554 00:32:49,267 --> 00:32:52,035 and then plummeted into the valley bottom. 555 00:32:54,539 --> 00:32:56,974 NARRATOR: People just below Langtang, 556 00:32:57,008 --> 00:33:00,911 in the narrow valley, suffered from pummeling rocks and debris. 557 00:33:00,945 --> 00:33:03,213 Here comes more! 558 00:33:03,247 --> 00:33:05,816 NARRATOR: The cloud could be seen for miles. 559 00:33:05,850 --> 00:33:07,284 Everyone was running 560 00:33:07,318 --> 00:33:09,553 from plummeting boulders and landslides. 561 00:33:09,587 --> 00:33:10,988 AUSTIN LORD: And it was breaking everywhere, 562 00:33:11,022 --> 00:33:12,723 and it was breaking in places you couldn't see. 563 00:33:12,757 --> 00:33:14,358 It was in the clouds. 564 00:33:14,392 --> 00:33:17,227 And you could hear it coming from 2,000, 3,000 meters above. 565 00:33:17,261 --> 00:33:20,297 NARRATOR: Austin Lord captured this footage 566 00:33:20,331 --> 00:33:23,533 in a village two miles below Langtang. 567 00:33:23,568 --> 00:33:25,869 LORD: You weren't sure if all of a sudden something would burst 568 00:33:25,903 --> 00:33:27,237 through the clouds that you couldn't run from. 569 00:33:27,271 --> 00:33:30,674 Here comes another tremor! 570 00:33:30,708 --> 00:33:32,242 LORD: Splinters coming from the sky, 571 00:33:32,276 --> 00:33:34,778 small rock debris coming from the sky. 572 00:33:34,812 --> 00:33:37,681 BARTELT: The houses that were directly 573 00:33:37,715 --> 00:33:40,350 in the path of the core had absolutely no chance. 574 00:33:40,385 --> 00:33:43,787 They were demolished and blown away immediately. 575 00:33:43,821 --> 00:33:49,026 BREASHEARS: It looks like what you see when one of these tornadoes 576 00:33:49,060 --> 00:33:54,598 of epic proportion just runs right through a place. 577 00:33:54,632 --> 00:33:59,202 NARRATOR: This was a mega-avalanche. 578 00:33:59,237 --> 00:34:03,306 A chunk of ice larger than the Empire State Building 579 00:34:03,341 --> 00:34:06,977 fell three times farther than the Everest avalanche-- 580 00:34:07,011 --> 00:34:09,479 more than 10,000 vertical feet-- 581 00:34:09,514 --> 00:34:13,417 reaching a speed of 225 miles per hour 582 00:34:13,451 --> 00:34:16,253 before hitting the village of Langtang. 583 00:34:16,287 --> 00:34:18,855 That would be ten times the most extreme avalanche 584 00:34:18,890 --> 00:34:20,257 we would have in Switzerland. 585 00:34:20,291 --> 00:34:23,326 And that's just a very, very extreme 586 00:34:23,361 --> 00:34:27,097 and unique avalanche event. 587 00:34:27,131 --> 00:34:31,134 NARRATOR: Austin Lord was among over 300 survivors stranded 588 00:34:31,169 --> 00:34:34,037 in Langtang Valley, unable to get out 589 00:34:34,072 --> 00:34:37,074 due to landslides and avalanches blocking the way. 590 00:34:37,108 --> 00:34:40,710 LORD: And then I looked upslope, where Langtang should've been, 591 00:34:40,745 --> 00:34:43,680 and you could see that Langtang was just... gone. 592 00:34:43,714 --> 00:34:45,782 And I was standing with two or three other people 593 00:34:45,817 --> 00:34:47,651 who realized it at the same time as me, 594 00:34:47,685 --> 00:34:50,720 locals whose families are located above and below 595 00:34:50,755 --> 00:34:55,092 and in Langtang, and it was heartstopping. 596 00:34:55,126 --> 00:35:00,697 Local people were seeing each other, realizing who was gone, 597 00:35:00,731 --> 00:35:02,399 who was still there, 598 00:35:02,433 --> 00:35:05,235 people coming down saying to the people coming up: 599 00:35:05,269 --> 00:35:06,470 "There's no one. 600 00:35:06,504 --> 00:35:08,638 This is... this is everyone." 601 00:35:08,673 --> 00:35:12,442 And just people collapsing, just people breaking and melting 602 00:35:12,477 --> 00:35:16,780 and children wailing. 603 00:35:16,814 --> 00:35:18,348 That was the hardest part. 604 00:35:20,685 --> 00:35:22,586 BREASHEARS: We were wandering down this trail 605 00:35:22,620 --> 00:35:25,489 with debris on both sides of us 606 00:35:25,523 --> 00:35:29,593 and we saw a man coming up the trail towards us. 607 00:35:29,627 --> 00:35:34,698 And he'd come back up the valley, having evacuated it, 608 00:35:34,732 --> 00:35:36,967 to look for his wife, 609 00:35:37,001 --> 00:35:38,902 and along with the army search team, 610 00:35:38,936 --> 00:35:43,006 he had found her body ten minutes earlier. 611 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,443 The earth shook. 612 00:35:46,477 --> 00:35:51,515 10,000 feet above him the ice fell. 613 00:35:51,549 --> 00:35:54,885 And in the blink of an eye his life had changed. 614 00:35:54,919 --> 00:35:59,656 He had no home, he had no wife, 615 00:35:59,690 --> 00:36:03,393 and he had only the 600 rupees in his pocket 616 00:36:03,427 --> 00:36:05,795 and that was six dollars. 617 00:36:05,830 --> 00:36:10,467 And that's something that I will never forget. 618 00:36:12,637 --> 00:36:19,376 NARRATOR: 17 days after the main shock, huge tremors rock Nepal again. 619 00:36:19,410 --> 00:36:22,012 Cameras in parliament capture the panic. 620 00:36:22,046 --> 00:36:23,246 ROGER BILHAM: About a minute ago, 621 00:36:23,281 --> 00:36:26,183 there was a very violent earthquake. 622 00:36:26,217 --> 00:36:27,484 We don't know where it was, 623 00:36:27,518 --> 00:36:31,922 probably about 20 or 30 kilometers from Kathmandu. 624 00:36:31,956 --> 00:36:34,057 And it set the whole valley shaking, 625 00:36:34,091 --> 00:36:35,959 just like it did in the main earthquake. 626 00:36:35,993 --> 00:36:38,395 Everyone was absolutely terrified. 627 00:36:38,429 --> 00:36:44,100 NARRATOR: Could this be a big aftershock, as in 1833? 628 00:36:44,135 --> 00:36:46,269 Or the big one from the west of Nepal 629 00:36:46,304 --> 00:36:47,704 that they've been dreading? 630 00:36:47,738 --> 00:36:50,907 Rarely does a seismologist get to be part 631 00:36:50,942 --> 00:36:52,342 of an earthquake he is studying. 632 00:36:52,376 --> 00:36:53,910 I think it's still moving! 633 00:36:53,945 --> 00:36:55,178 PATRICK GREAVES: It is still moving. 634 00:36:55,213 --> 00:36:56,346 Good grief! 635 00:36:56,380 --> 00:37:00,083 To see people with their arms outstretched 636 00:37:00,117 --> 00:37:01,618 wondering what was going to hit them 637 00:37:01,652 --> 00:37:03,853 even though there was nothing above them. 638 00:37:03,888 --> 00:37:05,989 Only trees and birds. 639 00:37:06,023 --> 00:37:08,892 People don't do that unless they've just recovered 640 00:37:08,926 --> 00:37:12,329 from an even worse shock, which of course was 16 days ago, 641 00:37:12,363 --> 00:37:13,496 the main shock. 642 00:37:13,531 --> 00:37:15,865 This is what happened in 1833. 643 00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:18,535 About two weeks later, there was a large aftershock 644 00:37:18,569 --> 00:37:19,803 that was felt in India. 645 00:37:19,837 --> 00:37:23,406 And I'm sure this one would have been, too. 646 00:37:23,441 --> 00:37:25,775 NARRATOR: Roger will be able to determine if it's an aftershock 647 00:37:25,810 --> 00:37:27,777 or a new earthquake in a matter of minutes. 648 00:37:27,812 --> 00:37:30,847 I've dialed up the USGS earthquake page 649 00:37:30,881 --> 00:37:33,950 and I'm sitting here waiting for a dot to appear on the map 650 00:37:33,985 --> 00:37:36,920 to tell me how big and exactly where it was. 651 00:37:36,954 --> 00:37:40,257 It takes 24 minutes for a seismic wave to cross 652 00:37:40,291 --> 00:37:42,425 from one side of the Earth to the other. 653 00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:44,828 And what we're waiting for are the seismic waves to hit 654 00:37:44,862 --> 00:37:48,031 those distant seismometers and then for their data 655 00:37:48,065 --> 00:37:50,567 to be transmitted via satellite at the speed of light. 656 00:37:50,601 --> 00:37:53,570 Keep going for 1.5 kilometers. 657 00:37:53,604 --> 00:37:55,005 Yeah, go down here. 658 00:37:55,039 --> 00:37:58,775 And these data arrive in Golden, Colorado, 659 00:37:58,809 --> 00:38:02,112 and then they're processed to find out how big 660 00:38:02,146 --> 00:38:05,315 and exactly where and how deep the earthquake was. 661 00:38:05,349 --> 00:38:07,117 NARRATOR: The shaking is intense enough 662 00:38:07,151 --> 00:38:09,919 to send people running out of buildings, 663 00:38:09,954 --> 00:38:14,357 bodies of water sloshed in waves. 664 00:38:14,392 --> 00:38:15,458 Whoa! 665 00:38:15,493 --> 00:38:16,493 That was enormous! 666 00:38:16,527 --> 00:38:18,528 It's a 7.4. 667 00:38:18,562 --> 00:38:19,562 My goodness! 668 00:38:19,597 --> 00:38:24,067 So, this is only a little bit smaller 669 00:38:24,101 --> 00:38:25,568 than the main shock. 670 00:38:25,603 --> 00:38:28,004 No wonder people were scared. 671 00:38:28,039 --> 00:38:29,572 The main shock was 7.8. 672 00:38:29,607 --> 00:38:32,442 This was 7.4, which means the energy released 673 00:38:32,476 --> 00:38:34,944 is four times less, 674 00:38:34,979 --> 00:38:38,114 but to the terrified inhabitants of this city, 675 00:38:38,149 --> 00:38:40,216 the impact was just the same. 676 00:38:40,251 --> 00:38:43,853 (woman screaming, people shouting) 677 00:38:43,888 --> 00:38:46,956 BILHAM: It was 83 kilometers from Kathmandu. 678 00:38:46,991 --> 00:38:49,726 It was near Mount Everest. 679 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:53,196 So that will have produced an enormous amount of avalanches. 680 00:38:53,230 --> 00:38:54,964 It's really tragic. 681 00:38:54,999 --> 00:38:57,767 NARRATOR: Roger concludes it's an aftershock 682 00:38:57,802 --> 00:38:59,703 to the east of the main shock, 683 00:38:59,737 --> 00:39:02,105 a section of the fault that hadn't moved enough 684 00:39:02,139 --> 00:39:03,273 and was catching up, 685 00:39:03,307 --> 00:39:08,011 releasing as much energy as a 25-megaton bomb. 686 00:39:08,045 --> 00:39:10,413 BILHAM: This aftershock was big enough 687 00:39:10,448 --> 00:39:12,315 to be a main shock in its own right. 688 00:39:12,350 --> 00:39:14,951 Let's go and talk to the survey department. 689 00:39:16,387 --> 00:39:18,188 It was magnitude 7.4! 690 00:39:18,222 --> 00:39:23,026 NARRATOR: When an earthquake strikes, scientists need to know 691 00:39:23,060 --> 00:39:26,763 not only the magnitude at the epicenter, 692 00:39:26,797 --> 00:39:30,934 but also the intensity of the shaking felt in each village. 693 00:39:30,968 --> 00:39:33,470 Roger and David Breashears fly over the region. 694 00:39:33,504 --> 00:39:36,272 BREASHEARS: Roger's mission was 695 00:39:36,307 --> 00:39:39,642 by looking at buildings and the way that they had held up, 696 00:39:39,677 --> 00:39:41,578 he could determine the shake intensity. 697 00:39:41,612 --> 00:39:43,146 It's the velocity 698 00:39:43,180 --> 00:39:45,982 at what the surface of the earth was moving at and the frequency. 699 00:39:46,016 --> 00:39:51,521 There were no instruments in these mountain areas 700 00:39:51,555 --> 00:39:53,123 to measure the shake intensity, 701 00:39:53,157 --> 00:39:56,593 but Roger knows how to determine that 702 00:39:56,627 --> 00:39:58,928 by what happened to buildings. 703 00:39:58,963 --> 00:40:01,598 BILHAM: We needed to get out here quickly 704 00:40:01,632 --> 00:40:03,266 because in the days following an earthquake, 705 00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:04,968 people already start cleaning up. 706 00:40:05,002 --> 00:40:07,103 You don't leave a pile of rubble in your front yard. 707 00:40:07,138 --> 00:40:09,472 So, we lose some of the clues that we need 708 00:40:09,507 --> 00:40:11,875 to understand why the buildings fell down. 709 00:40:11,909 --> 00:40:14,010 NARRATOR: They maneuver close to villages 710 00:40:14,044 --> 00:40:18,047 so David can shoot high-resolution photos. 711 00:40:18,082 --> 00:40:21,184 BREASHEARS: We'll be able to zoom in on those images 712 00:40:21,218 --> 00:40:23,720 and even look at such fine detail that you can just see 713 00:40:23,754 --> 00:40:27,157 bricks or stacked fieldstone 714 00:40:27,191 --> 00:40:32,462 and from that Roger was able to make a determination. 715 00:40:32,496 --> 00:40:35,298 NARRATOR: Using a shake intensity scale, 716 00:40:35,332 --> 00:40:38,735 Roger puts a value between one and ten 717 00:40:38,769 --> 00:40:41,905 on the observable damage produced in each village. 718 00:40:41,939 --> 00:40:46,843 If crockery falls off a shelf, it's intensity six. 719 00:40:46,877 --> 00:40:51,915 Poorly made buildings will partially collapse at seven, 720 00:40:51,949 --> 00:40:53,249 but they'll flatten at eight. 721 00:40:53,284 --> 00:40:57,320 Total destruction would result from intensity ten. 722 00:40:57,354 --> 00:41:00,890 This scale informs engineers 723 00:41:00,925 --> 00:41:02,692 rebuilding for the next big quake. 724 00:41:02,726 --> 00:41:08,665 Over 770,000 buildings were either damaged or flattened 725 00:41:08,699 --> 00:41:10,333 by this earthquake. 726 00:41:10,367 --> 00:41:14,304 Why did some collapse and others survive? 727 00:41:16,140 --> 00:41:19,609 There's a clue in the heart of Kathmandu. 728 00:41:19,643 --> 00:41:23,213 Durbar Square experienced intensity seven shaking. 729 00:41:23,247 --> 00:41:27,383 It's a World Heritage site turned to rubble. 730 00:41:27,418 --> 00:41:30,386 But the dust-laden debris, 731 00:41:30,421 --> 00:41:33,823 dating back to the sixth century, holds a secret. 732 00:41:33,858 --> 00:41:36,326 KAI WEISE: The big earthquakes only come every 80 to 100 years 733 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:38,595 so there's a generation gap very often 734 00:41:38,629 --> 00:41:39,996 and then they have to relearn 735 00:41:40,030 --> 00:41:43,132 the need to protect themselves. 736 00:41:43,167 --> 00:41:45,134 After the last earthquake, I mean, 737 00:41:45,169 --> 00:41:49,138 we were still reconstructing after 80 years. 738 00:41:49,173 --> 00:41:52,642 Initially, it was just a shock to see on the news 739 00:41:52,676 --> 00:41:56,613 all these images, and it's just unbelievable. 740 00:41:56,647 --> 00:41:59,516 But then it slowly sinks in and you sort of have to accept 741 00:41:59,550 --> 00:42:04,354 the fact, you know, what kind of destruction there has been. 742 00:42:04,388 --> 00:42:08,157 NARRATOR: Coronations of kings have taken place here-- 743 00:42:08,192 --> 00:42:10,460 five acres and ten courtyards, 744 00:42:10,494 --> 00:42:14,464 dominated by the white 19th century portion 745 00:42:14,498 --> 00:42:17,467 of the neoclassical Hanuman Dhoka palace, 746 00:42:17,501 --> 00:42:22,972 the newer wing of the original palace, built in the 1770s. 747 00:42:23,007 --> 00:42:24,240 The palace presides 748 00:42:24,275 --> 00:42:27,777 over some of Kathmandu's oldest living temples. 749 00:42:27,811 --> 00:42:30,847 WEISE: Most of these temples are still being used 750 00:42:30,881 --> 00:42:33,950 and they have religious value as well as purely cultural value. 751 00:42:36,554 --> 00:42:40,823 NARRATOR: This undated stone image of Kal Bhairav, 752 00:42:40,858 --> 00:42:44,561 the Hindu god of justice, has survived many quakes. 753 00:42:44,595 --> 00:42:47,931 Out here, we see that two of these tiered temples 754 00:42:47,965 --> 00:42:52,001 on these platforms have totally collapsed. 755 00:42:52,036 --> 00:42:54,604 Very clearly these two temples sort of create 756 00:42:54,638 --> 00:42:55,738 this whole space here, 757 00:42:55,773 --> 00:42:58,274 which is a part of the identity of the city. 758 00:42:58,309 --> 00:43:01,611 They went in with heavy machinery to clear it up 759 00:43:01,645 --> 00:43:03,980 and the problem is heavy machinery impacts 760 00:43:04,014 --> 00:43:06,883 all of the material that could be reused later on. 761 00:43:06,917 --> 00:43:09,819 But we've tried to salvage 762 00:43:09,853 --> 00:43:12,655 as much of this material as possible. 763 00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:14,324 There are all these different elements 764 00:43:14,358 --> 00:43:17,360 and I think they have been mixed up between the temples 765 00:43:17,394 --> 00:43:19,295 and that will be a major challenge 766 00:43:19,330 --> 00:43:20,697 just trying to figure out 767 00:43:20,731 --> 00:43:22,632 where these different elements came from. 768 00:43:22,666 --> 00:43:25,768 NARRATOR: Damage assessment of heritage buildings 769 00:43:25,803 --> 00:43:28,538 requires detective work. 770 00:43:28,572 --> 00:43:31,608 The skin of a centuries-old palace can hide 771 00:43:31,642 --> 00:43:33,109 the true structure within. 772 00:43:33,143 --> 00:43:36,579 Why is the old palace still intact, 773 00:43:36,614 --> 00:43:39,816 while the newer, white palace walls must be shored up? 774 00:43:39,850 --> 00:43:41,084 WIESE: So we were scared 775 00:43:41,118 --> 00:43:42,752 that that would actually collapse, 776 00:43:42,786 --> 00:43:45,788 and if it would, it would bring that whole corner down... 777 00:43:49,259 --> 00:43:52,629 NARRATOR: The white plaster-faced building is failing. 778 00:43:52,663 --> 00:43:54,564 Both are brick construction 779 00:43:54,598 --> 00:43:57,634 and have suffered through past earthquakes. 780 00:43:57,668 --> 00:44:01,571 Randolph Langenbach is a conservation architect. 781 00:44:01,605 --> 00:44:04,841 He travels to earthquake zones to find out what makes 782 00:44:04,875 --> 00:44:07,477 some traditional buildings earthquake-resistant. 783 00:44:09,179 --> 00:44:13,983 NARRATOR: Randolph finds timber hidden within the brick façade. 784 00:44:14,018 --> 00:44:17,687 It's not just a single timber, but it essentially is 785 00:44:17,721 --> 00:44:20,356 like placing a ladder onto the wall. 786 00:44:20,391 --> 00:44:22,291 In other words this cross piece is very much a part 787 00:44:22,326 --> 00:44:23,826 of the system. 788 00:44:23,861 --> 00:44:26,696 WIESE: So you have the beams on the inside and outside. 789 00:44:26,730 --> 00:44:29,699 And then it's held together with this one, which goes through, 790 00:44:29,733 --> 00:44:32,435 so that it basically ties the wall together. 791 00:44:32,469 --> 00:44:33,636 You know what's interesting? 792 00:44:33,671 --> 00:44:35,138 You know what I realized? 793 00:44:35,172 --> 00:44:38,207 It's a frame, timberframe structure. 794 00:44:38,242 --> 00:44:39,909 Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can see the woodwork 795 00:44:39,943 --> 00:44:41,644 going all the way through the ground floor. 796 00:44:41,679 --> 00:44:43,112 And in one corner, probably one of... 797 00:44:43,147 --> 00:44:44,113 Vertical woodwork. 798 00:44:44,148 --> 00:44:45,314 Yes, yes, yes! 799 00:44:45,349 --> 00:44:46,349 And it's tied together. 800 00:44:46,383 --> 00:44:48,518 Then it answers the question. 801 00:44:48,552 --> 00:44:50,253 It answers why it behaved... 802 00:44:50,287 --> 00:44:52,855 it had a different sympathetic motion. 803 00:44:52,890 --> 00:44:54,791 Because this is a frame structure. 804 00:44:54,825 --> 00:44:57,226 It's actually more flexible. 805 00:44:57,261 --> 00:45:01,130 And it's rocking back and forth essentially as a solid unit. 806 00:45:01,165 --> 00:45:04,267 So it can't travel with this 807 00:45:04,301 --> 00:45:07,503 and it broke everything up around it, but it stayed intact. 808 00:45:07,538 --> 00:45:10,940 NARRATOR: It's the timbers hidden within the brick masonry 809 00:45:10,974 --> 00:45:15,144 that laces the older palace together, holding it firm 810 00:45:15,179 --> 00:45:18,347 yet elastic enough to withstand an earthquake. 811 00:45:18,382 --> 00:45:19,916 WIESE: So here the beautiful thing is 812 00:45:19,950 --> 00:45:22,118 that they also started to put in ornamentation 813 00:45:22,152 --> 00:45:25,488 within the latticework. 814 00:45:25,522 --> 00:45:27,957 Up here you can see these beams. 815 00:45:27,991 --> 00:45:30,460 They're tied with the wooden pegs. 816 00:45:30,494 --> 00:45:34,363 And now that is to hold the brickwork. 817 00:45:34,398 --> 00:45:36,766 This is really traditional earthquake technology. 818 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,969 NARRATOR: This combination of timberlacing with brick was not used 819 00:45:40,003 --> 00:45:43,072 in the more recently constructed white palace, 820 00:45:43,107 --> 00:45:45,041 which is on the verge of collapse. 821 00:45:45,075 --> 00:45:48,678 WIESE: They had to develop this system of combining the wood 822 00:45:48,712 --> 00:45:50,246 with the brickwork 823 00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:53,316 and it took centuries for them to develop this 824 00:45:53,350 --> 00:45:56,886 and it became the traditional system of construction, 825 00:45:56,920 --> 00:46:00,356 but then later on they forgot these lessons. 826 00:46:00,390 --> 00:46:03,426 NARRATOR: For the two million Nepalis faced with rebuilding 827 00:46:03,460 --> 00:46:06,796 their homes, this critical lesson in protecting themselves 828 00:46:06,830 --> 00:46:09,699 must be relearned. 829 00:46:09,733 --> 00:46:12,835 But wood in remote villages is often not available. 830 00:46:12,870 --> 00:46:17,406 So how can the millions who live in fieldstone villages 831 00:46:17,441 --> 00:46:19,542 build earthquake-resistant homes? 832 00:46:19,576 --> 00:46:22,845 BILHAM: The village construction practices have to use 833 00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:24,213 indigenous materials. 834 00:46:24,248 --> 00:46:27,650 They don't have access to cement. 835 00:46:27,684 --> 00:46:29,018 Bricks are not available. 836 00:46:29,052 --> 00:46:30,486 Instead they use local stones 837 00:46:30,521 --> 00:46:33,790 and they do not adhere to the cement that they have to use, 838 00:46:33,824 --> 00:46:35,391 which is mud. 839 00:46:35,425 --> 00:46:36,893 And mud is incredibly weak. 840 00:46:36,927 --> 00:46:41,030 Some of the structures that survived have wooden tie beams 841 00:46:41,064 --> 00:46:44,267 around the walls that have held them together. 842 00:46:44,301 --> 00:46:45,968 NARRATOR: One of the hardest-hit districts, 843 00:46:46,003 --> 00:46:48,771 close to the epicenter, is Dhading. 844 00:46:48,806 --> 00:46:52,241 Randolph is on a mission to rebuild a home 845 00:46:52,276 --> 00:46:57,647 that is earthquake-resistant, using local materials. 846 00:46:57,681 --> 00:47:01,884 The right consistency of mud, hardware wire and stone 847 00:47:01,919 --> 00:47:05,321 is all that's needed for a safe home 848 00:47:05,355 --> 00:47:08,758 made in the traditional style for much of Nepal. 849 00:47:08,792 --> 00:47:10,326 The wire was purchased 850 00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:12,161 at the nearest hardware store and carried in. 851 00:47:12,196 --> 00:47:13,396 LANGENBACH: One thing they had 852 00:47:13,430 --> 00:47:18,034 was wire fencing for keeping the animals in. 853 00:47:18,068 --> 00:47:19,969 The idea came to my mind. 854 00:47:20,003 --> 00:47:23,005 Well, why not use the wire? 855 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:25,308 NARRATOR: Randolph's idea is to install 856 00:47:25,342 --> 00:47:29,145 a reinforcing element he calls "gabion bands" 857 00:47:29,179 --> 00:47:31,280 right into the masonry walls, 858 00:47:31,315 --> 00:47:33,783 just like the Hanuman Dhoka Palace. 859 00:47:33,817 --> 00:47:36,886 Gabion is a wire cage filled with rocks. 860 00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:38,588 We need 22 feet. 861 00:47:38,622 --> 00:47:43,492 NARRATOR: Structural engineer Dipendra Gautam trains local stonemasons 862 00:47:43,527 --> 00:47:46,495 to use gabion bands as a substitute for timber bands. 863 00:47:53,237 --> 00:47:56,806 NARRATOR: The homes in this region suffered intense damage. 864 00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:00,409 Ninety percent have to be rebuilt. 865 00:48:00,444 --> 00:48:03,713 Add a simple band that ties the walls together, 866 00:48:03,747 --> 00:48:07,850 even with bicycle tubes, and the building might hold. 867 00:48:07,885 --> 00:48:11,754 LANGENBACH: They needed to have some tensile reinforcement in the walls, 868 00:48:11,788 --> 00:48:16,692 and the traditional way of doing that was in the series of bands. 869 00:48:16,727 --> 00:48:19,695 NARRATOR: Each wire band has a layer of stone and mud mortar 870 00:48:19,730 --> 00:48:21,230 placed onto it. 871 00:48:21,265 --> 00:48:26,068 This is wrapped into a cage and all four walls of the building 872 00:48:26,103 --> 00:48:30,339 are tied together to form what engineers call a ring beam. 873 00:48:30,374 --> 00:48:36,279 LANGENBACH: The band seemed to be something that could be hand-carried in. 874 00:48:36,313 --> 00:48:42,218 It could be understood by people in a short explanation. 875 00:48:42,252 --> 00:48:48,724 NARRATOR: This will be home for a man named Ram, who is a Dalit, 876 00:48:48,759 --> 00:48:50,693 the lowest caste in Nepal. 877 00:48:50,727 --> 00:48:53,429 His father committed suicide last year, 878 00:48:53,463 --> 00:48:56,766 and the earthquake then destroyed Ram's home. 879 00:48:56,800 --> 00:49:03,005 GAUTAM: 880 00:49:13,884 --> 00:49:17,420 (boy laughing) 881 00:49:17,454 --> 00:49:19,288 LANGENBACH: The timberlacing that we saw 882 00:49:19,323 --> 00:49:23,526 in the 18th century part of the Hanuman Dhoka palace-- 883 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:26,395 and those parts have survived almost entirely intact-- 884 00:49:26,430 --> 00:49:30,099 is a way of giving tensile strength to the wall. 885 00:49:30,133 --> 00:49:33,269 And this is a basic engineering concept. 886 00:49:33,303 --> 00:49:38,207 This is not distant at all from what engineers say is needed. 887 00:49:38,241 --> 00:49:41,510 NARRATOR: We know another earthquake will come, 888 00:49:41,545 --> 00:49:43,212 maybe in two years as an aftershock, 889 00:49:43,246 --> 00:49:48,150 or maybe the big one will rupture from the west of Nepal. 890 00:49:48,185 --> 00:49:52,221 But Ram is now better prepared. 891 00:49:54,992 --> 00:50:00,463 This earthquake took nearly 9,000 lives, but Seema Tamang-- 892 00:50:00,497 --> 00:50:03,933 who was buried under the rubble of her home for 24 hours-- 893 00:50:03,967 --> 00:50:05,634 survived the odds. 894 00:50:05,669 --> 00:50:07,103 How do you feel today? 895 00:50:07,137 --> 00:50:08,738 (translator speaking) 896 00:50:08,772 --> 00:50:11,707 NARRATOR: She had little hope of recovering the use of her leg. 897 00:50:11,742 --> 00:50:13,642 But she wants to go back to school 898 00:50:13,677 --> 00:50:17,613 and get there on her own two feet. 899 00:50:17,647 --> 00:50:19,515 Having lived through a megaquake, 900 00:50:19,549 --> 00:50:21,717 the first of their lifetimes, 901 00:50:21,752 --> 00:50:24,954 are the people of Nepal now more prepared to face 902 00:50:24,988 --> 00:50:26,756 their seismic future? 903 00:50:26,790 --> 00:50:29,825 BILHAM: This earthquake acted as a kind of a Rosetta stone, 904 00:50:29,860 --> 00:50:33,396 interpreting all previous earthquakes, and I'm sure 905 00:50:33,430 --> 00:50:35,531 we are going to see enormous headway 906 00:50:35,565 --> 00:50:36,932 as a result of this earthquake. 907 00:50:36,967 --> 00:50:39,402 Not only from the seismological point of view, 908 00:50:39,436 --> 00:50:42,872 but from the philanthropic point of view, 909 00:50:42,906 --> 00:50:44,440 and earthquake engineering, 910 00:50:44,474 --> 00:50:45,908 and what kind of buildings we need 911 00:50:45,942 --> 00:50:47,877 to survive the next earthquake. 912 00:50:47,911 --> 00:50:52,815 NARRATOR: The pent-up tectonic stress miles beneath the Himalayas 913 00:50:52,849 --> 00:50:54,083 continues to build. 914 00:50:54,117 --> 00:50:55,785 Can you lift your toe? 915 00:50:55,819 --> 00:50:57,553 This one? 916 00:50:57,587 --> 00:50:59,889 And now this one. 917 00:50:59,923 --> 00:51:01,157 Straighten the good one. 918 00:51:01,191 --> 00:51:02,458 Straight. 919 00:51:02,492 --> 00:51:03,692 Oh, look at that! 920 00:51:03,727 --> 00:51:05,327 They both go straight. 921 00:51:05,362 --> 00:51:08,064 So that means this quadriceps muscle is working, 922 00:51:08,098 --> 00:51:09,231 which is good. 923 00:51:09,266 --> 00:51:11,534 NARRATOR: Living with large earthquakes 924 00:51:11,568 --> 00:51:14,937 is a reality for the people of the Himalaya, 925 00:51:14,971 --> 00:51:17,406 since they happen in Nepal about every hundred years. 926 00:51:17,441 --> 00:51:21,577 Thankfully, the earthquake wasn't that big. 927 00:51:21,611 --> 00:51:23,012 Tragic, yes. 928 00:51:23,046 --> 00:51:28,784 But, let's see if we can't learn now from this earthquake 929 00:51:28,819 --> 00:51:32,021 to help us get prepared for that next big one, whenever it comes. 930 00:51:32,055 --> 00:51:34,256 GARDNER: This is fantastic! 931 00:51:34,291 --> 00:51:35,324 Come back here, sweetie. 932 00:51:38,161 --> 00:51:39,161 I'm so happy for you. 933 00:51:39,196 --> 00:51:40,162 This is great! 934 00:51:40,197 --> 00:51:41,330 This is really good. 935 00:51:41,364 --> 00:51:44,433 NARRATOR: Nepal is a nation that will walk again, 936 00:51:44,468 --> 00:51:47,470 because this earthquake not only tells a story about the past, 937 00:51:47,504 --> 00:51:50,773 but about the inevitable seismic perils 938 00:51:50,807 --> 00:51:53,876 that will come in the future. 939 00:52:07,390 --> 00:52:09,825 The investigation continues online, 940 00:52:23,273 --> 00:52:26,142 This NOVA program is available on DVD. 941 00:52:26,176 --> 00:52:31,380 To order, visit shopPBS.org, or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 942 00:52:31,414 --> 00:52:34,049 NOVA is also available for download on iTunes. 80178

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