2015年尼泊尔8.1级大地震前后喜马拉雅带地震活动图像演变

针对2015年4月25日尼泊尔M8.1地震后喜马拉雅造山带的未来地震危险性问题,通过对喜马拉雅带历史大地震应变能释放和在尼泊尔地震发震前后的区域地震活动图像进行了分析研究。结果发现喜马拉雅带很可能已进入新-轮的地震活跃期。此次尼泊尔大地震不足以将喜马拉雅带中段的地壳应变能全部释放,喜马拉雅带中段的地震活动和藏南裂谷带地震活动具有密切的关联,在喜马拉雅带中段和藏南裂谷带还将有大地震活动。同时研究结果还显示现今在喜马拉雅带的东段存在阿萨姆围空区和不丹围空区,在喜马拉雅的西段出现噶尔围空区,喜马拉雅西段新德里和西藏接壤地区以及喀喇昆仑断裂上噶尔县地区地震危险性很高,喜马拉雅东段林芝山南地区以南的阿萨姆和不丹地区危险性很高,应引起重视。     

印度—欧亚板块碰撞变形区的大地震时空分布特征与迁移规律

印度板块与欧亚板块在新生代期间的持续碰撞和挤压过程导致亚洲大陆发生了强烈的弥散式板内变形,并形成了一个以贝加尔湖为顶点,以喜马拉雅带为底边的近似三角形的变形区与强震活动区,即新-藏三角区。基于固体刚塑性变形平面结构,结合滑移线场网络模型,对该区历史强震活动的大范围离散式空间分布特点进行了分析解释。结合1505-1976年以来历史强震空间迁移的实例,归纳了该区历史强震活动与地震应变释放从印度板块边界→新-藏地块→两侧大陆的顺序性及定向性迁移特征,并根据对地震空间迁移规律的认识,进一步探讨了区域未来强震危险性问题。结果显示,从2000-2018年间,印度板块边界和新-藏三角区已多次发生M7.9~9.1大地震,但其东、西两侧的区域大陆地区却异常平静,没发生过7级以上大地震。依照区域强震活动的顺序性迁移特点,推测在未来几到几十年,亚洲大陆东部与中部以及喜马拉雅带东段等区域的大地震危险性较大。      

基于尼泊尔Mw7.8地震的喜马拉雅俯冲带滑坡分布规律研究

全球多数大地震发生在俯冲带地区,然而对于俯冲带地震诱发的滑坡研究并不多见。2015年4月25日尼泊尔廓尔喀县发生了Mw78地震,为喜马拉雅俯冲带近70年来的首次强震,震源机制解表明为低角度逆冲型的俯冲带地震,触发了大量滑坡、崩塌等地震次生灾害。通过遥感解译和现场调查获取2072组地震滑坡信息,揭示滑坡多数分布在海拔1000m~3000m之间,高喜马拉雅与低喜马拉雅的过渡区域,基本沿主中央逆冲断裂断裂(MCT)展布,地势落差大。早期断裂活动频繁,由中、高级变质岩和新生代浅色花岗岩变为古生代沉积岩和少量岩浆岩组成的逆冲岩席,易于发生滑坡、崩塌等地质灾害。滑坡坡度值优势分布区间为35°~40°,与中国西部地区一致,说明地震滑坡坡度分布与大的构造背景相关性较小,可能受局部地形地貌、地层岩性等因素控制。坡向值的优势分布区间为120°~200°,与水平形变场关系紧密。以尼泊尔地震滑坡为例探讨了喜马拉雅俯冲带地震滑坡的特征：滑坡点明显呈相对较宽的矩形区域展布,受深部逆冲推覆构造低倾角的断层破裂面影响较大,滑坡全部位于上盘,由于地震运动的惯性作用,在坡向与上盘逆冲方向一致的斜坡上容易诱发地震滑坡。     

2015年尼泊尔Ms81地震构造成因及对青藏高原及邻区未来强震趋势的影响

2015年尼泊尔大地震的余震分布、震源机制解、震源破裂过程反演结果和喜马拉雅造山带的新生代地质构造特点表明,此次大地震的控震构造是构成印度板块与欧亚板块之间构造边界带的喜马拉雅主逆冲断裂,是印度板块沿该断裂带向欧亚板块之下低角度俯冲过程中导致的一次盲断层型逆冲断裂活动。地震产生的破裂面从北西向东南方向传播,累计长度170km左右,最大倾向滑移量5-7m。该断裂带全新世活动强烈,其上的历史大地震活动频率高、强度大,M≥7.5地震的原地复发平均间隔在500年左右,而在地震活跃阶段分段破裂的平均间隔只有10年左右,并且1800年以来的多次大地震活动显示出从西向东迁移的规律。历史地震活动过程指示,该断裂带上的兴都库什、尼泊尔西部、锡金-不丹和印缅交界区4个空区段的未来大地震危险性较显著,特别是位于此次大地震东部的两个空区。印度板块向北与欧亚板块间的低角度、高强度陆陆俯冲碰撞作用是中国大陆现今地壳变形的主要动力来源。这是中国大陆强震频发的主要地质构造原因,也决定了喜马拉雅与青藏高原及邻区的大地震活动之间明显的时空关联性,主要表现为大地震活跃阶段在时间上的交替出现和大地震沿垂直喜马拉雅造山带的纵向迁移过程。历史地震活动过程和西南地区地震危险性分析成果揭示,在新一轮喜马拉雅大地震活跃形势下,中国大陆将面临更为严峻的大地震危险形势,尤其是青藏高原及邻区晚第四纪活动性显著的区域性构造带或断裂带的潜在强震危险性将比较突出,主要包括：藏南的近南北向裂谷带与北西向右旋走滑断裂带,川滇地块中的安宁河-小江断裂带与大凉山断裂带、南汀河断裂带与畹町断裂带、澜沧-景洪断裂带和滇西北大理-丽江裂陷带,西北地区的西昆仑山前逆冲-褶皱带、阿尔金断裂带和天山的主要逆冲-褶皱变形带等。由于当前中国及西南地区的活动构造调查研究存在的诸多不足限制了对区域大地震危险性更为全面准确的地质评估,并正成为城镇化与重大工程规划建设过程中地壳稳定性评价的“瓶颈”所在。因此,未来的地质调查工作中,建议应紧密结合国家需求,进一步重视新构造与活动构造的调查研究,尽快部署完成重要活动构造区带的活动断裂普查,并重视和加强与邻国的国际合作与交流。     

京津冀地区历史地震事件时空特征研究

受环太平洋地震带影响,华北平原地区地震频发,尤其是处于中国首都经济圈的京津冀地区的地震事件备受关注。通过对历史文献资料及地震台网记录中的地震事件统计、分析,重建该地区地震事件历史并获取其潜在的空间分布特征及时间规律,对未来地震事件的早期预警具有重要参考意义。分析结果表明,公元前231年至公元2018年期间京津冀地区发生的1044起地震事件中,以有感地震和中强地震为主,小地震、强烈地震以及大地震发生频次较低。地震记录完整性分析结果表明,除小地震外,其他等级地震记录自公元1400年以来基本完整。在空间分布上,京津冀地区历史地震呈"T"字形分布,沿1条北西—南东走向地震带和1条北东—南西走向地震带分布。在时间上,京津冀地区地震事件呈现出阶段性的变化,在公元1480—1680年间以及1950年以来2个时间段内较为活跃,发生频率较高,频谱分析结果进一步表明地震记录存在45年的复发周期。在月际尺度上,地震事件同样存在季节性差异且多发于夏秋季节,同时地震密集区域在年内呈现出自西向东迁移的现象。最后,根据历史地震事件发生的时间规律,在未来一段时间内京津冀地区仍将处于地震活跃期,存在发生强震的风险。     

京津冀地区历史地震事件时空特征研究*

受环太平洋地震带影响,华北平原地区地震频发,尤其是处于中国首都经济圈的京津冀地区的地震事件备受关注。通过对历史文献资料及地震台网记录中的地震事件统计、分析,重建该地区地震事件历史并获取其潜在的空间分布特征及时间规律,对未来地震事件的早期预警具有重要参考意义。分析结果表明,公元前231年至公元2018年期间京津冀地区发生的1044起地震事件中,以有感地震和中强地震为主,小地震、强烈地震以及大地震发生频次较低。地震记录完整性分析结果表明,除小地震外,其他等级地震记录自公元1400年以来基本完整。在空间分布上,京津冀地区历史地震呈“T”字形分布,沿1条北西—南东走向地震带和1条北东—南西走向地震带分布。在时间上,京津冀地区地震事件呈现出阶段性的变化,在公元1480—1680年间以及1950年以来2个时间段内较为活跃,发生频率较高,频谱分析结果进一步表明地震记录存在45年的复发周期。在月际尺度上,地震事件同样存在季节性差异且多发于夏秋季节,同时地震密集区域在年内呈现出自西向东迁移的现象。最后,根据历史地震事件发生的时间规律,在未来一段时间内京津冀地区仍将处于地震活跃期,存在发生强震的风险。     

地震层析对印度板块向北俯冲的认识

通过对中美合作Hi-CLIMB项目在尼泊尔境内及西藏萨嘎以南采集的宽频地震数据的分析研究，笔者用远震层析反演方法对喜马拉雅—西藏碰撞带之下一些关键地段的关键性深部信息进行探讨，进一步证实印度板块在向北俯冲时，引发最剧烈的构造变形发生在其前缘并展示了向北缓倾的主边界断裂（MBT）和3次出现在剖面上的主中央断裂（MCT）的赋存特征；另外，自尼泊尔南缘至雅鲁藏布江断裂处有一条向北缓倾的界面，南端深为10km左右，北端约为25km；由于俯冲、挤压和缩短造成了高喜马拉雅和特提斯喜马拉雅地壳增厚并由此造成了热地壳以及壳内局部熔融存在的现实。     

喜马拉雅造山带地震活动及其相关地质灾害

喜马拉雅造山带是地球上海拔最高、规模最大的陆陆板块俯冲碰撞带在这条长达2 500 km的板块边界上,近年来多次发生破坏性地震,造成大规模的滑坡、房屋倒塌等次生灾害,给人民生命和财产安全造成严重的威胁。分别选取尼泊尔喜马拉雅、喜马拉雅东构造结和喜马拉雅西构造结地区近期发生的3个地震震群作为研究实例,基于中国科学院青藏高原研究所在研究区架设的区域流动地震台站记录的波形资料,对地震的震源位置和震源机制解进行计算。结果表明,在尼泊尔喜马拉雅地区,主喜马拉雅逆冲断裂是大地震的主要发震构造;东构造结地区的地震以逆冲和走滑型为主,表明印度板块向北东方向的逆冲推覆和青藏高原向东南逃逸的侧向挤出是该地区的主要构造背景;西构造结地区中深源地震多发,揭示了高角度大陆深俯冲的几何形态。     

地震空区法在大地震危险性初判中的应用——以青藏高原东南缘为例

以ARCGIS系列软件和VS 2010、SQL Server 2008为平台, 通过融合集成活动构造、地震地质和国家基础地理信息, 在初步建立的青藏高原东南缘活动构造空间数据库系统基础上, 利用地震围空区方法, 针对研究区进行区域大地震危险性中长期预测分析。通过地震信息分时间、分震级的整理与数据输出, 分析汇总了11例M≥7.0大震震例的地震空区活动图像以及围空区发震震级与围空区特征与参数。在总结出的经验公式基础上, 进一步利用1950-2012年的M≥5.0地震数据, 对该区地震围空区的发生与发育状况进行了初步分析与研究, 并对未来可能发生大震的发震位置及震级进行了综合分析。研究结果表明, 玉树-鲜水河-小江断裂带所围限的青藏高原东南缘地区存在6个比较突出的与区域重要的晚第四纪活动构造带或断裂带相对应的大地震围空区, 分别是错那-沃卡裂谷, 东喜马拉雅构造结, 安宁河-则木河断裂, 南汀河断裂-红河断裂, 畹町断裂-南汀河断裂, 澜沧-景洪断裂东段。这些围空区中主要活动断裂带的晚第四纪活动性与历史地震活动状况也都显示出未来几年至几十年存在发生大地震的危险性, 在今后的地震预报工作中应给予特别关注。应用实践表明, 通过活动构造数据库的建设可快速有效地实现对区域大地震围空区的动态分析、辨别及大地震危险性初判。      

地震预测:从芦山地震到大陆地震

自从1990年以来,通过对青藏高原的调查和研究,认识到下地壳流动同步形成盆地和造山带,并受控于相关洋盆地幔软流圈向大陆的顺层流动和底辟作用。下地壳不均匀流动通过韧脆性中地壳热能-应变能转换孕育地震,部分发震能量通过上地壳脆性断层释放。在地震孕育过程中通常会伴生跨年度干旱和异常降雨,构成热灾害链。近5年内青藏高原东部连续发生汶川、玉树、芦山大地震,形成于从亚东流经羊八井、安多、玉树并分支流向汶川和芦山—康定的下地壳"热河"的仰冲式和侧冲式撞击作用。从2008年9月以来连续发表5篇论文,根据地壳热构造和热灾害链的时空结构对芦山地震的三要素进行了长期和中期预测。2008年9月预测从2013年开始可能发生大地震,2012年9月将鲜水河—安宁河—小江异常热流构造带5年内将发生多个7级地震的首个大震锁定在芦山或西昌。芦山地震只释放了亚东—羊八井—安多—玉树—鲜水河—安宁河—小江"热河"剩余热能中的一小部分,在西昌—会理—昭通地区、道孚—康定地区、通海—石屏地区近5年内很可能发生4个7级左右的地震。此外,华北典型的热灾害链结构表明震情严峻,环渤海地区近3年内很可能发生大地震。从地震热流体撞击机理与地震异常之间的关联性出发,提出了动态立体监测及短临预测地震的思路和方法。     

Seismic Activity in the Himalayan Orogenic Belt and Its Related Geohazards

Himalayan orogenic belt is the highest and largest continental collision and subduction zone on the Earth. The Himalayan orogenic belt has produced frequent large earthquakes and caused several geohazards due to landslides and housing collapse, having an impact on the safety of life and property along a length of over 2500 km. Here we took three earthquake clusters as examples, which occurred at Nepal Himalaya, eastern Himalayan syntaxis and western Himalayan syntaxis, respectively. Here we calculated the earthquake locations and fault plane solutions based on the waveform data recorded by seismic stations deployed in source areas by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We found that at the Nepal Himalayan, the Main Himalayan Thrust is the major tectonic structure for large earthquakes to occur. At the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, most earthquakes are of the reverse or strike-slip faulting. The major tectonic feature is the combination of the NE-dipping thrust with the southeastern escape of the Tibetan plateau. At the western Himalayan syntaxis, intermediate-depth earthquakes are active. These observations reveal the geometry of the deep subduction of the continental plate with steep dipping angle.     

Seismotectonics of the Nepal Himalaya from a local seismic network

The National Seismological Network of Nepal consists of 17 short period seismic stations operated since 1994. It provides an exceptional view of the microseismic activity over nearly one third of the Himalayan arc, including the only segment, between longitudes 78°E and 85°E, that has not produced any M>8 earthquakes over the last century. It shows a belt of seismicity that follows approximately the front of the Higher Himalaya with most of the seismic moment being released at depths between 10 and 20 km. This belt of seismicity is interpreted to reflect interseismic stress accumulation in the upper crust associated with creep in the lower crust beneath the Higher Himalaya. The seismic activity is more intense around 82°E in Far-Western Nepal and around 87°E in Eastern Nepal. Western Nepal, between 82.5 and 85°E, is characterized by a particularly low level of seismic activity. We propose that these lateral variations are related to segmentation of the Main Himalayan Thrust Fault. The major junctions between the different segments would thus lie at about 87°E and 82°E with possibly an intermediate one at about 85°E. These junctions seem to coincide with some of the active normal faults in Southern Tibet. Lateral variation of seismic activity is also found to correlate with lateral variations of geological structures suggesting that segmentation is a long-lived feature. We infer four 250–400 km long segments that could produce earthquakes comparable to the M=8.4 Bihar–Nepal earthquake that struck eastern Nepal in 1934. Assuming the model of the characteristic earthquake, the recurrence interval between two such earthquakes on a given segment is between 130 and 260 years.     

Abnormal disappearance of Duoqing Co lake between November 2015 and April 2016, due to far-field aseismic creeping of the southern Yadong-Gulu rift of Tibet,triggered by the 2015 Ms 8.1 Nepal earthquake

ABSTRACT

Duoqing Co is a 60 km² outflow lake in the N-trending Pagri graben, located at the southern end of the Yadong-Gulu rift in Tibet. The water in this lake suddenly disappeared between November 2015 and April 2016, closely following the Ms 8.1 (Mw 7.8) Nepal earthquake in April 2015. Both, geomorphological and remote sensing data indicate the existence of blind faults striking NNE along the east boundary of Duoqing Co lake. There were also several nearly NE-trending extensional cracks preserved in the dried lakebed, apparently formed in response to creeping deformation of the underlying rock. Based on field studies and analysis of meteorological and remote sensing data, it is suggested that this phenomenon cannot be explained by evaporation linked to climate change nor can it be related to human activity. Instead, it is considered that the lake water drained through the extensional cracks formed in the lakebed as it responded to the far-field effects of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It is proposed that a shift in regional tectonics occurred as a result of the Nepal earthquake, causing a sharp increase in stress accumulation along the seismically locked Bhutan–Sikkim zone on the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) fault, which was accommodated by the extension of the Pagri graben in the southern Yadong-Gulu rift. It is believed that the crust may have reached a critical stress-state that resulted in strain hardening and brittle failure throughout the region along the Bhutan–Sikkim segment of the MHT. If so, considering the high potential for tectonic activity along the segment of the MHT, it may be worth paying attention to deformational changes and potential geomorphological precursors that might appear in the seismically locked Bhutan–Sikkim gap to predict future earthquakes.     

Macroseismic field observations of 18 September 2011 Sikkim earthquake

A shallow-focus damaging earthquake of magnitude 6.9?Mw struck the Sikkim Himalaya, north-east India, on 18 September 2011 at 12:40:48 UTC (06:10:48PM IST). The epicentre was located north-west of Chungthang on Indo-Nepal border of Sikkim Himalaya. The earthquake was widely felt in northern India and caused widespread damage to poorly built and framed structures in Sikkim region, northern Bihar, eastern Nepal, southern Bhutan and part of Tibet adjoining Sikkim Himalaya. A lot of secondary effects in the form of landslides, rockfalls and landslide lake outburst flood were caused due to strong shaking effect of the earthquake. Maximum intensity IX according to the European Macroseismic Scale-98 was observed in the meizoseismal zone surrounding Chungthang village. Asymmetrical distribution and heterogeneous damage pattern demonstrate intensity attenuation characteristics of the region. Although the regional tectonic framework of Sikkim region indicates compressional thrust tectonics regime, according to CMT fault-plane solution this earthquake involved predominantly strike-slip motion on a steep fault. Unlike Nepal and north-west Himalaya where microseismicity and large earthquakes indicate thrust mechanism, this Sikkim earthquake suggests that strike-slip principal component may imply transcurrent deformation.     

The devastating Muzaffarabad earthquake of 8 October 2005: New insights into Himalayan seismicity and tectonics

The recent earthquake of 8 October 2005 in the Muzaffarabad region in western Himalaya destroyed several parts of Pakistan and the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The earthquake of magnitude 7.6 claimed more than 80,000 lives, clearly exposing the poor standards of building construction — a major challenge facing the highly populated, earthquake prone, third world nations today. In this paper, we examine variations in the stress field, seismicity patterns, seismic source character, tectonic setting, plate motion velocities, GPS results, and the geodynamic factors relating to the geometry of the underlying subsurface structure and its role in generation of very large earthquakes. Focal mechanism solutions of the Muzaffarabad earthquake and its aftershocks are found to have steep dip angles comparable to the Indian intra-plate shield earthquakes rather than the typical Himalayan earthquakes that are characterized by shallow angle northward dips. A low p-value of 0.9 is obtained for this earthquake from the decay pattern of 110 aftershocks, which is comparable to that of the 1993 Latur earthquake in the Indian shield — the deadliest Stable Continental Region (SCR) earthquake till date. Inversion of focal mechanisms of the Harvard CMT catalogue indicates distinct stress patterns in the Muzaffarabad region, seemingly governed by an overturned Himalayan thrust belt configuration that envelops this region, adjoined by the Pamir and Hindukush regions. Recent developments in application of seismological tools like the receiver function technique have enabled accurate mapping of the dipping trends of the Moho and Lithosphere–Asthenosphere Boundary (LAB) of Indian lithosphere beneath southern Tibet. These have significantly improved our understanding of the collision process, the mechanism of Himalayan orogeny and uplift of the Tibetan plateau, besides providing vital constraints on the seismic hazard threat posed by the Himalaya. New ideas have also emerged through GPS, macroseismic investigations, paleoseismology and numerical modeling approaches. While many researchers suggest that the Himalayan front is already overdue for several 8.0 magnitude earthquakes, some opine that most of the front may not really be capable of sustaining the stress accumulation required for generation of great earthquakes. We propose that the occurrence of great earthquakes like those of 1897 in Shillong and 1950 in Assam have a strong correlation with their proximity to multiple plate junctions conducive for enormous stress build up, like the eastern Himalayan syntaxis comprising the junction of the India, Eurasia plates, and the Burma, Sunda micro-plates.     

METAMORPHISM IN THE LESSER HIMALAYAN CRYSTALLINES AND MAIN CENTRAL THRUST ZONE IN THE ARUN VALLEY AND AMA DRIME RANGE (EASTERN HIMALAYA)

METAMORPHISM IN THE LESSER HIMALAYAN CRYSTALLINES AND MAIN CENTRAL THRUST ZONE IN THE ARUN VALLEY AND AMA DRIME RANGE (EASTERN HIMALAYA)1　BrunelM ,KienastJR . tudep啨ｔｒｏ structuraledeschevauchementsductileshimalayenssurlatrans versaledel’Everest Makalu (N啨ｐａｌｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌ) [J].CanadianJ .EarthSciences,1986 ,2 3:1117～ 1137. 2　LombardoB ,RolfoF .TwocontrastingeclogitetypesintheHimalayas :implicationsfortheHimalayanorogeny…     

Active tectonics of the Himalaya

The Himalayan mountains are a product of the collision between India and Eurasia which began in the Eocene. In the early stage of continental collision the development of a suture zone between two colliding plates took place. The continued convergence is accommodated along the suture zone and in the back-arc region. Further convergence results in intracrustal megathrust within the leading edge of the advancing Indian plate. In the Himalaya this stage is characterized by the intense uplift of the High Himalaya, the development of the Tibetan Plateau and the breaking-up of the central and eastern Asian continent. Although numerous models for the evolution of the Himalaya have been proposed, the available geological and geophysical data are consistent with an underthrusting model in which the Indian continental lithosphere underthrusts beneath the Himalaya and southern Tibet. Reflection profiles across the entire Himalaya and Tibet are needed to prove the existence of such underthrusting. Geodetic surveys across the High Himalaya are needed to determine the present state of the MCT as well as the rate of uplift and shortening within the Himalaya. Paleoseismicity studies are necessary to resolve the temporal and spatial patterns of major earthquake faulting along the segmented Himalayan mountains.     

Global strain rates in western to central Himalayas and their implications in seismic hazard assessment

The Himalayas has experienced varying rates of earthquake occurrence in the past in its seismo-tectonically distinguished segments which may be attributed to different physical processes of accumulation of stress and its release, and due diligence is required for its inclusion for working out the seismic hazard. The present paper intends to revisit the various earthquake occurrence models applied to Himalayas and examines it in the light of recent damaging earthquakes in Himalayan belt. Due to discordant seismicity of Himalayas, three types of regions have been considered to estimate larger return period events. The regions selected are (1) the North-West Himalayan Fold and Thrust Belt which is seismically very active, (2) the Garhwal Himalaya which has never experienced large earthquake although sufficient stress exists and (3) the Nepal region which is very seismically active region due to unlocked rupture and frequently experienced large earthquake events. The seismicity parameters have been revisited using two earthquake recurrence models namely constant seismicity and constant moment release. For constant moment release model, the strain rates have been derived from global strain rate model and are converted into seismic moment of earthquake events considering the geometry of the finite source and the rates being consumed fully by the contemporary seismicity. Probability of earthquake occurrence with time has been estimated for each region using both models and compared assuming Poissonian distribution. The results show that seismicity for North-West region is observed to be relatively less when estimated using constant seismicity model which implies that either the occupied accumulated stress is not being unconfined in the form of earthquakes or the compiled earthquake catalogue is insufficient. Similar trend has been observed for seismic gap area but with lesser difference reported from both methods. However, for the Nepal region, the estimated seismicity by the two methods has been found to be relatively less when estimated using constant moment release model which implies that in the Nepal region, accumulated strain is releasing in the form of large earthquake occurrence event. The partial release in second event of May 2015 of similar size shows that the physical process is trying to release the energy with large earthquake event. If it would have been in other regions like that of seismic gap region, the fault may not have released the energy and may be inviting even bigger event in future. It is, therefore, necessary to look into the seismicity from strain rates also for its due interpretation in terms of predicting the seismic hazard in various segments of Himalayas.