National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center

Introduction

Seismic monitoring and research in Nepal began in October 1978 with an agreement between the governments of Nepal and France to jointly study earthquakes in the Himalayan region. This collaboration led to the establishment of Nepal’s first seismic station at Phulchowki Hill in Lalitpur District, involving the Department of Mines and Geology (Nepal) and the Laboratoire de Géophysique (France). By 1985, a network of five stations around Kathmandu was actively monitoring earthquakes in central Nepal. Following the 1988 Udayapur earthquake, the national seismic network was expanded to monitor seismic activity across the country. By 1993, 17 stations were operating nationwide, supported by two recording centers: the National Seismological Center (NSC) at Lainchaur, Kathmandu, and the Regional Seismological Center (RSC) at Birendranagar, Surkhet.

The RSC oversaw seismic monitoring of the Mid-Western and Far-Western regions, operating five stations in collaboration with France's Department of Analysis & Surveillance of the Environment (DASE). In 1998, four additional stations were installed for micro-seismic monitoring in the Karnali Basin. By 2008, the addition of an advanced broadband seismic station in Bhimchula, Surkhet, increased the RSC's operational capacity to ten stations.

After the devastating 2015 Gorkha earthquake, ten new seismic stations were established in northern Nepal as part of a post-disaster recovery project. This project was a joint effort between Nepal's Department of Mines and Geology and the China Earthquake Administration (CEA). The Seismological Center in Surkhet (formerly the RSC) manages four of these new stations and currently uses a total of 14 stations to continuously (24/7) monitor all earthquakes measuring 2.0 or greater in western Nepal.

Activities

The primary activities of this center are the continuous operation of seismic stations, the recording of seismic waves, and the determination of epicenters, thereby providing information about earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or higher in western Nepal to the public and stakeholders. It also serves as a data backup for the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center, DMG in Kathmandu. This information ultimately aids search and rescue operations and supports earthquake related research in the Nepal Himalayas.

Network

S.N.	Station Name (code)	Location	District	Type	Remarks
1	Harre (HARN)	Bheriganga Municipality	Surkhet	Seismic
2	Gaibanna (GABN)	Birendranagar Municipality	Surkhet	Seismic and Relay
3	Gainekanda (GNKN)	Barahatal Rural Municipality	Surkhet	Seismic
4	Pusma (PUSN)	Chaukune Rural Municipality	Surkhet	Seismic
5	Badegauja (BADN)	Mohanyal Rural Municipality	Kailali	Seismic
6	Ghanteshwar (GHAN)	Jorayal Rural Municipality	Dadelhura	Seismic	Including GNSS
7	Gajari (GJRN)	Sigas Rural Municipality	Baitadi	Seismic
8	Bayana (BAYN)	Khaptadchhanna Rural Municipality	Bajhang	Seismic	Including GNSS
9	Bhimchula (BHMN)	Birendranagar Municipality	Surkhet	Seismic and Relay	Including GNSS
10	Megha (MEGN)	Sanibheri Rural Municipality	Rukum West	Seismic
11	Surkhet (BHMN)	Birendranagar Municipality	Surkhet	Seismic and Accelerometer	Including GNSS
12	Mugu (MUGU)	Kanakasundari Rural Municipality	Jumla	Seismic and Accelerometer	Including GNSS
13	Bajura (BAJU)	Badimalika Municipality	Bajura	Seismic and Accelerometer	Including GNSS
14	Darchula (DARC)	Shailyashikhar Municipality	Darchula	Seismic and Accelerometer	Including GNSS

                                                                                                                        Network Map

Staff

SN	Name	Possition	Contact	Remarks
1	Chintan Timsina	Seismologist (Office Chief)	9858082634
2	Tirtha Raj Dahal	Technical Assistant	083-520534	Information Officer
3	Yagya Prasad Parajuli	Technical Assistant
4	Yubaraj Subedi	Technical Assistant
5	Kamal Prasad Kharal	Na Su
6	Anusa Dahal	Assistant Sampler
7	Bhawana Sharma	Assistant Sampler
8	Gokarna Chand	Assistant Accountant

 

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