5.b. case study nepal various strategies to manage hazards from earthquakes

background

there is no possibility of preventing or modifying an earthquake event, however some of the effects of ground shaking, such as landslides, can be managed. the nepalese are aware of the effects of deforestation in reducing slope stability and afforestation programmes operate in some parts of the country. demand for fuel, building materials and fodder for livestock means that nepalese forests continue to be under pressure

attempts to mitigate against the event

alike to japan the earthquakes cannot be prevented and for nepal these mitigation attempts are very limited. there is a network of seismic monitring stations supported by international organisations. data is hared with global systems to detect earthquake activity. this helps eith identification but necessarily reducing the hazard however. there were limited control of secondary hazards with local attempts to stabilise slopes and reduce landslide risk. land use zoning is used to hazard map which identifies: areas of intense ground shaking, landslide prone slopes and unstable river valleys. authroities attempt to restrict building in the highest risk zones. however there is limited enforcement due to rapid population growth, poverty and informal housing

attempts to mitigate against vulnerability

even as a LIDC nepal does have some resources to manage earthquake hazards. the national society for earthquake technology founded in 1993 and the disaster preparedness network founded in 1996 are NGOs which aim to bring together science and engineering to devise strategies to reduce risks: mapping of high risk shake zones; building codes introduced; encouraging households to have a go-bag containing items useful in an earthquake emergency eg dried foods, bottle of water, water purification tablets, whistle; introducing education programmes; organising an annual earthquake awareness day.

there are community based disaster risk reduction where local communities are trained in first aid, search and rescue and evacuation planning. this is significant at local scales as the country isnt the most accessible for higher powers like govs

attempts to mitigate against losses

the impacts of earthquake can be severe, both for country and for individuals. when an event if high magnitude occurs, the intervention of international disaster relief agencies is needed to mitigate its effect. some 330 humanitarian agencies were involved in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake in nepal. they included international organisations such as UN and EU, individual countries such as indonesia, japan and uk, and NGOs such as red cross, christian aid and shelter. after the 2015 gorkha earthquake tha aid included food, water, medical care and temporary shelter. this was partly coordinated by the UN. there is reconstruction programmes where gov led rebuilding schemes for safer housing and financial grants for reconstruction. there is limited earthquake insurance with very low coverage due to poverty and most people are uninsured. they cannot afford to pay for insurance yet the damage from the earthquake could completely cripple them economically.

conclusion

the earthquake allows analysis of the effectiveness of disaster planning and mitigation strategies. several experts have concluded that the impacts could potentially have been much greater, for example the risk maps for the city of bharatpur suggested that as many as 30% of its inhabitants couldve been killed- actually no deaths in the city and the vast majority of the citys infrastructure and buildings escaped damage. throughout nepal people benefited from educational programmes and earthquake building codes.

despite a feeling in nepal that the disaster couldve been worse there was still considerable loss of life, injury and damage to buildings. away from kathmandu and the central valley, nepal’s mountainous topography hindered attempts to get emergency aid to remote villages. at a personal level 1000s of individuals households have been devastated by the loss of family mambers