The 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake or 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake was one of the worst earthquakes in the history of Nepal and Bihar, India. This 8.0 magnitude earthquake occurred on 15 January at 2:28PM NST and caused widespread damage in northern Bihar and in Nepal.
The epicentre for this event was located in eastern Nepal about 9.5 km (5.9 mi) south of Mount Everest.[3] The areas where the most damage to life and property occurred extended from Purnea in the east to Champaran in the west (a distance of nearly 320 km (200 mi)), and from Kathmandu in the north to Munger in the south (a distance of nearly 465 km (289 mi)). The impact was reported to be felt in Lhasa to Bombay, and from Assam to Punjab. The earthquake was so severe that in Kolkata, around 650 km (404 mi) from epicenter, many buildings were damaged and the tower of St. Paul's Cathedral collapsed.
The three major towns of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal—Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan—were severely affected and almost all the buildings collapsed. Large cracks appeared in the ground and several roads were damaged in Kathmandu; however, the temple of Pashupatinath, the guardian deity of Nepal, escaped any damage. In Sitamarhi, not a single house was left standing. In Patna, only one castle remained standing, with the rest of the city being turned to rubble. In Rajnagar, near Madhubani, all the Kutcha buildings collapsed. The buildings of Darbhanga Raj, including the famous Naulakha Palace, were severely damaged. In Jharia the earthquake led to further spread of underground fire. The town of Birgunj was destroyed, along with its telephone line to Kathmandu.
