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Summary

The study paper highlights a comparison between two significant earthquakes: the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal and the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China. Despite having similar magnitudes (Mw 7.8 and 7.9, respectively), both earthquakes resulted in severe loss of life, property damage, and the generation of tens of thousands of landslides.

It further highlights the investigation of several controlling factors to explain the significant differences in the number, volume, and area of the coseismic landslides triggered by these two similar earthquakes. Factors such as topographic relief, slope steepness, and regional peak ground acceleration (PGA) were examined. However, the study reveals that the primary factor contributing to the differences was the dip angle of the seismogenic fault.