[4] This earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.6–7.9 and struck with an epicenter somewhere in or near the Kathmandu Valley.

The earthquake caused major destruction in numerous towns and villages in Nepal, northern India, and Tibet.

This was because the mainshock was preceded by two smaller but intense foreshocks earlier that day, causing many residents to take refuge outside their homes.

All of which failed to release all the strain that had been building over the past centuries thus was an incomplete rupture of the Main Himalayan Thrust.

[1] The same fault patch that ruptured in 1833 would re-rupture again during the Mw  8.0 1934 Bihar earthquake, as the 1833 event did little to release the elastic tension along the décollement.

Shaking then escalated to a more violent characteristic; trees were seen bending, and houses ripped from their foundations.

In Kathmandu, the earthquake was assigned a modified Mercalli intensity scale rating of VIII (Severe) to X (Extreme).

In an article published by The India Gazette on September 12 the same year, the earthquake was perceived as wave-like with long rolls and peaks, in a northeast and southwest direction.

[7] Several native dwellings were reportedly destroyed, and at least three people died from house collapses.

The foreshocks were also distinctly felt in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, jolting many people from their sleep, including the Europeans settling in the area.

[3] The earthquake was felt over an area roughly 1 million km2 in Nepal, northern India, and southern Tibet.

The two foreshocks occurring a few hours to minutes before the larger quake may have greatly reduced the death toll.

[8] In India, the earthquake caused some serious damage to towns and destroyed a small number of buildings.

The capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, felt four distinct shocks with the last two causing homes to creak, and lamps to swing about.