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This would be considered a seriously large earthquake if it was in a place with strict building codes like the USA. For comparison, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which damaged 80 bridges was a 6.9. The last "Big One" in California, the Fort Tejon event of 1857, was a 7.9.
US Geological Survey: Worldwide events by magnitude
Al Jazeera reports:
The government of Nepal has declared a state of emergency after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country and killed hundreds of people, touching off a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.
Officials said that more than 1,800 people were known to have died on Saturday in Nepal's most powerful quake in decades.
The epicentre was 80km northwest of Kathmandu. The Kathmandu valley is densely populated with nearly 2.5 million people and poorly enforced building regulations.
As aftershocks continued throughout Saturday, the toll was was expected to rise significantly as the scale of the disaster became clear.
[...] The earthquake destroyed many historical landmarks, including the UNESCO World Heritage temples at Basantapur Durbar Square and the Dharara tower, both in central Kathmandu.
[...] Emergency workers and army and police personnel, with the help of residents and bystanders, continued to work tirelessly on Saturday to clear the rubble from these sites and to rescue any survivors from under the debris, although [mostly corpses were] being pulled out.
As night fell [over] the country, thousands of people were staying outdoors and found refuge in Kathmandu's open spaces, in fear that subsequent aftershocks may cause further damage.
The Associated Press news agency cited a senior guide as saying that an avalanche swept a mountain near the Everest base camp. Al Jazeera has learned that at least 10 people were killed in the incident, which also left many climbers trapped.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by moondrake on Sunday April 26 2015, @07:54PM
Its not only the location. The problem is that the magnitude of a quake (a measure of energy released) does not have a clear relation to what is called the intensity [carleton.edu] (a measurement of damage, or amount of ground shaking occurring locally).
I lived for a couple of years in Japan and they actually usually indicate 2 numbers for earth quake, one of which refers to the intensity, and corresponds much better with your personal experience of the events.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 26 2015, @09:51PM
in Japan and they actually usually indicate 2 numbers
Sounds like the 12-point Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg scale. [wikipedia.org]
The Mercalli scale existed before the Richter scale and before there were seismic instruments to measure this stuff.
-- gewg_