Nepal earthquake: Engineering lessons from a disaster

Binod Tiwari, a geo-technical engineer from Cal State Fullerton, examines a building damaged by the April 25 earthquake in Nepal. Photo: Los Angeles Times/TNS/Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Tiwari and his team were driving on the Araniko Highway when the magnitude-7.3 aftershock hit the region May 12. The ground lurched and their car swayed as if rocked by high waves.

It was like “some big elephant coming to your car and shaking the car”, Tiwari says.