GeoLog

Tibet

The 1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake: A singular Himalayan earthquake on its 75th Anniversary

CP Rajendran August 15, 2025

Alluvial fans, transition from the Himalayas to the Tibetan Plateau by Jana Eichel Source: Imaggeo

August 15, 1950, marked India’s fourth year of Independence. The young nation’s mood was optimistic. People all over India were celebrating the country’s newfound freedom. Known as the land of the rising Sun, the jubilant people of the northeastern part of the country were about to conclude the celebrations and retire for the day. In the northeast corner, surrounded by the Himalayan mountains, the ...[Read More]

When mountains collapse…

Jane Qiu April 27, 2016

The mountainsides, severely weakened by last year’s Gorkha Earthquake, is more likely to give way, especially during monsoons and aftershocks. (Credit: Kristen Cook)

Jane Qiu, a grantee of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, took to quake-stricken Nepal last month — venturing into landslide-riddled terrains and shadowing scientists studying what makes slopes more susceptible to failure after an earthquake. The journey proved to be more perilous than she had expected. What would it be like to lose all your family overnight? And how would you cope? It’s wit ...[Read More]