Background Information

• Population approx 29 million (2018)

• Capital city Kathmandu (90km from the earthquake epicentre)

• Landlocked country located north of India and south of China

• Himalayas - fold mountain in China - runs through Nepal (Mt Everest in Nepal)

• 15th April 2015 - 11:56

Cause

• Collison plate boundary - between Indo-Australian/Eurasian plate - resulted in significant build of pressure

• Magnitude 7.5 Mw - largest earthquake in 60 years

• Shallow focus - approx 15km - increased effects felt on ground

• Ground shaking experience in adjacent India, Bangladesh + Pakistan - some buildings damaged

• 51 aftershocks - 7.3 Mw aftershock on 12th May - impacted recovery and rescue operations

• Mountainous topography increases risk of landslide hazard (secondary effect) - due to ground shaking (primary effect)

• Geological structure of soft sediment + prehistoric lakes - increase seismic risk - extended ground shaking

Effects

• 8,8000 deaths

• Approx 22,000 injuries reported

• Approx 473,000 homes destroyed

• 2.8 million people displaced from homes - housed in tented refugee camps

• Conditions for homeless people worsened when monsoon rains arrived shortly after earthquake

• Some people still not in permanent accommodation 4 years later

• Economic migrants to the area chose to relocate to their home countries

• Food and water aid required in immediate aftermath - particularly in rural areas - people suffered immediate loss of income due to damage to agricultural land/death of main income earner

• Loss of crops - earthquake occurred during growing season - long term food security issues

• Long term impacts - loss of family + friends - resulted in mental health issues

• Effects felt unevenly - poorer people most affected - lived on hillsides affected by landslides - single women disproportionately affected - most aid given to men who discriminated against women

• Cultural buildings destroyed - UNESCO sites such as Bhaktapur and Dharahara Tower - trails up to Mt Everest closed for several weeks - resulted in significant drop in money from tourism - accounts for 10% of country’s GDP

• Total cost estimated at $10 billion - doesn’t reflect lost tourist income

• Economic progress in Nepal reversed - progress towards peace + democracy undermined due to concerns with governments response

Mitigation

• Effects of ground shaking exacerbated by extensive deforestation across the country - left slopes unstable - increased risk of landslides

• Government encouraged afforestation programmes but in poor countries there is a high demand for wood and land clearance for cattle farming - little effect so far

• Mapping areas that are at risk of ground shaking

• Introduction of building codes

• Education programmes

• Annual earthquake awareness day

Responses

• 330 humanitarian agencies provided aid following disaster

• Short term aid co-ordinated by disaster Emergency Committee (DEC)

• Longer term international + multilateral aid provided to help with reconstruction of infrastructure - included $200 million from Asian Development Bank

• Bilateral aid from other governments not always distributed to areas in need - Nepalese government widely acknowledged to be corrupt - multilateral + NGO aid received directly by communities in need

• Nepal has less resilience to tectonic hazards than AC’s such as Japan or EDCs such as Indonesia - given magnitude of earthquake experts think disaster could have been much worse if it weren’t for the mitigation strategies

Wider Reading

• 800,000 families do not have their homes rebuilt

• Barely 5% of destroyed houses have been rebuilt

• Government responsible - failing to work with ministries responsible for distributing reconstruction funds

• Only 2% of money distributed to households needing to rebuild their homes

• Only 544,996 families have received their first payment

• Shortages of water and other raw materials has slowed building