GH - Nepal Earthquake Case Study

Nepal’s GDP

under $1000

Nepal location?

between China and India, landlocked

Where does most of the population live?

in 2015, 80% of the population lived in rural, often remote communities

When did the earthquake hit?

25th April 2015 at 11:26am

Magnitude

7.8

Epicentre

80km northwest of Kathmandu in the Gorka district

Focus

• shallow, at only 15km beneath the surface

• over 300 aftershocks followed the main earthquakes

Cause

Nepal is located on a collision boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates

Deaths

9000

Injuries

over 20,000

buildings destroyed

7000 schools and 1000 health facilities were damaged or destroyed

effects of earthquake

• almost 3.5 million people were made homeless

• offices, shops and factories were destroyed meaning people were unable to make a living

• UNESCO world heritage sites destroyed, as well as many temples

• loss of tourist income (Nepal relied on)

• avalanches on Mt Everest and in the Langtang Valley

• landslides blocked roads and rivers

Costs of damages

between $6-10 billion, about 35% of the GDP

Donations of money from around the world

total $3 billion, $3.3 million from China and $51 million from the UK

forms of aid

• temporary shelters

• medicines

• food

• water

• clothing

• search and rescue teams

• medical staff

Immediate responses

• 90% of the Nepalese army were mobilised

• tent cities set up in Kathmandu for those made homeless

• GIS crisis mapping tool used to coordinate response

• $3 million grant provided by the Asian Development Bank for emergency relief

Long-term response

• landslides were cleared and roads repaired to restore access to remote rural communities

• schools were rebuilt

• earthquake drills were introduced to provide people with education about what to do in the event of an earthquake

• stricter building codes, more enforcement

• $200 million was provided by the Asian Development Bank for rebuilding

• a new government task force was set up to plan for future earthquake events