Gorkha earthquake Flashcards
when was the Gurkha earthquake
25th April 2015
what is the GDP of Nepal
$24 billion
what is the HDI of Nepal
0.583
what plate boundary
eurasian and indian plate - convergent
continental - continental
fold mountains
how prone is Nepal to earthquakes
11th in the world
on average how many earthquakes every 40 years
two 7-8 Mw earthquakes
how does the geological structure of Nepal increase seismic risk
valley structures
in Kathmandu valley the depth of sediment reaches 600m
as seismic waves pass through this material - they are amplified - causing structures to swing violently
where was the epicentre
90 km NE of Kathmandu
how many aftershocks occurred
51 aftershocks equal or greater than 5 MW
included a 7.3 MW shock in May - 200 more fatalities
why did liquefaction occur
localised liquefaction in Kathmandu due to lake sediments and high water table
landslides and avalanches caused by the earthquake
4000 landslides
most severe in Langtang valley - destroying 3 villages and killing 52
everest avalanche killed 22
economic impacts (4)
$10 bn cost to national economy
tourism fell to a 6 year low - loss of $600 million
60 countries offered assistance including EDC’s and LEDC’s
7000 schools destroyed - long term smaller workforce
social impacts (4)
increased trafficking of young women and girls for prostitution
1mn in need of food aid
2.8 million people displaced - mainly rural migrants living in Kathmandu
tibetan villages in Himalayas hit hard - due to living on the slopes
environmental impacts (4)
freshwater ecosystems in Koshi basins damaged due to increased sediment
loss of family livestock - 17,000 (cattle) - 40,000 chickens
escape of rainbow trout from fish farms damaging local species
2.2% of forest cover lost
political impacts (3)
aid distribution hampered by political corruption and ethnic minorities were marginalised
single women struggled to obtain aid - due to patriarchal society norms
India accused of virtue signalling and using aid as method to exert influence in Nepal
name one impact which will have long term implications and explain
disruption of the planting season before the monsoon season - long term - not enough food grown within Nepal - failure to allocate food - leaves people without food - may lead to malnutrition - may cause death - furthermore - can’t be regrown as season has passed - have to look to food aid - creates a dependancy - long term loss of productivity
how one of the impacts shows unequal impacts of the earthquake within society
single women struggled to obtain aid due to patriarchal norms - shows gender inequality - as women do not have the same access to food as men - means they may be further impacted by the earthquake - as they cannot gain aid - lead to single parent families - greater chance of poverty
which impact was mainly caused due to the physical feature
Tibet people living on steep slopes - deggs model
how did they mitigate the loss (4)
mobilised 90% of its force - including ex service men
may 1st - Mede Ines sans frontiers and Red Cross - started to medical evacuate the wounded
$3bn was pledged to rebuilding Nepal with India donating $1bn
Nepal government released 500 million rupees for relief
how did they mitigate the vulnerability (4)
used FINDER technology to locate heartbeats - Kathmandu labs were already mapping the area
month before event - humanitarian aid hub funded by WFP - opened in tribhuvan airport - for anticipated distribution of resources after a disaster
pre planned search and rescue operation Sankat Mochan
people benefited from annual earthquake awareness day on 16th January
what challenges did res cue efforts face in Nepal (2)
rainfall and aftershocks - potential secondary effects like landslides and building pancaking
government building and personal were lost - reduced preparedness
tourism in Nepal
started to increase in 2009 - increased from 500,000 to 800,000 in 2012
in 2015 fell from 780,000 to 550,000
