Images

Major damage was more likely to monuments in Kathmandu, Nepal than more modern structures

Villagers in Kerauja below a rock slide that resulted from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on April 25, 2015 in Gorkha district, Nepal.

View of geologists pointing to fault in a trench dug across one of the ruptures from the 2014 South Napa earthquake. From front to rear: Alexandra Pickering, Suzanne Hecker, Aaron Page (all USGS). Trench located approximately 3 miles NW of downtown Napa, CA.

San Jose Earthquakes' Avaya Stadium.

A brain coral boulder eight feet in diameter stands 750 feet inland in the British Virgin Islands. Geologists say that the coral was brought ashore, probably alive, by an unusual tsunami or storm between the years 1200 and 1480.

Increased flow over rock riffle in Sonoma Creek seen after South Napa Earthquake of August 24, 2014.

Location: Sonoma Creek downstream of the Agua Caliente Road Bridge, Sonoma County, California.

Left-stepping en echelon fractures characteristic of right-lateral fault displacement at the ground surface. Total fault slip measured near this location was 40-46 cm. Photo taken on main rupture strand near Buhman Rd.

Right-lateral displacement of centerline on Redwood Rd of 2.4 cm along a secondary rupture strand, near the north end of the fault rupture.

Right-lateral offset of vineyard row of nearly 40 cm. Photo taken on the main fault rupture near Buhman Rd.

Pavement buckling and tented sidewalk resulting from ~14 cm of compression on Sandybrook Ln., north end of main rupture.

Right lateral offset of Browns Valley Rd. centerline, on a secondary fault strand.

Driveway buckling across secondary fault strand at Browns Valley Rd. 

Damaged unreinforced masonry building on Main St. in Napa Downtown.

Continuous "mole-track" running parallel to the strike of the fault indicates some E-W compression in addition to right-lateral faulting. Photo taken near Buhman Rd.

Small displacement ground cracks along main rupture near Cuttings Wharf Rd., south of Hwy. 12, taken the day of the earthquake. Displacement in this area grew to ~20 cm right-lateral by Monday, 8/25, due to afterslip.

USGS scientists Robert Sickler (left) and Rufus Catchings (right) carrying an auger to a drill hole for seismic survey.

USGS scientists Robert Sickler (below) and Rufus Catchings (standing) attaching a section of an auger bit in order to drill a hole for a seismic survey.

Warren Hall on California State University East Bay's Hayward campus is scheduled to be demolished Aug. 17, 2013 for seismic safety reasons. The landmark building's implosion will produce energy similar to a small earthquake that can be used to study and map the nearby Hayward Fault. In partnership with the university, U.S.

Warren Hall on California State University East Bay's Hayward campus is scheduled to be demolished Aug. 17, 2013 for seismic safety reasons. The landmark building's implosion will produce energy similar to a small earthquake that can be used to study and map the nearby Hayward Fault. In partnership with the university, U.S.

From left, USGS research geophysicist Dr. Rufus Catchings and USGS' Coyn Criley work out the placement of seismometers around Warren Hall (in background) on California State University East Bay's Hayward campus. The landmark building’s implosion will produce energy similar to a small earthquake that can be used to study and map the nearby Hayward Fault.

Following the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, the USGS has been helping with earthquake awareness and monitoring in the country, with continued support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).