article_snippet.sent: In a landlocked country like Nepal, where infrastructure is fragile to begin with, the consequences of such an earthquake had the potential to be "much more serious," Ravilious told CNN.
article_snippet.sent: Those fears were realized when a magnitude-7.8 earthquake centered less than 50 miles from the national capital of Kathmandu rocked Nepal, toppling homes, historic buildings and leaving more 1,400 dead, authorities said.
article_snippet.sent: What's different this time from 1934 is the size and density of Kathmandu, which suffered the brunt of damage in both earthquakes.
article_snippet.sent: When you get a vast population in the kind of building infrastructure that isn't equipped to handle shaking of an earthquake this size, that's when you see the scale of disaster we're seeing now.
article_snippet.sent: an earthquake was in the 1500s, and Kathmandu was badly damaged in an earthquake that occurred farther east of Saturday's quake in 1934.
article_snippet.sent: A major concern for an earthquake that occurred farther east of Saturday's quake in 1934 is damage from landslides generated by the strong shaking, Clark said.
article_snippet.sent: The entire area that experienced shaking was in steep, mountainous topography where landsliding is a significant hazard.
article_snippet.sent: Clark compared the circumstances to the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.
article_snippet.sent: an earthquake that occurred farther east of Saturday's quake in 1934 generated more 200,000 landslides, many of which blocked roads, slowing response and recovery efforts.
article_snippet.sent: the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China also blocked river valleys, which created significant flood hazard.
highlights_snippet.sent: Population density, weak building infrastructure amplified damage, USGS spokesman says .
  