Gorkha earthquake

Question 1

when was the Gurkha earthquake

Answer 1

25th April 2015

Question 2

what is the GDP of Nepal

Answer 2

$24 billion

Question 3

what is the HDI of Nepal

Answer 3

0.583

Question 4

what plate boundary

Answer 4

eurasian and indian plate - convergent

continental - continental

fold mountains

Question 5

how prone is Nepal to earthquakes

Answer 5

11th in the world

Question 6

on average how many earthquakes every 40 years

Answer 6

two 7-8 Mw earthquakes

Question 7

how does the geological structure of Nepal increase seismic risk

Answer 7

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

Question 8

where was the epicentre

Answer 8

90 km NE of Kathmandu

Question 9

how many aftershocks occurred

Answer 9

51 aftershocks equal or greater than 5 MW

included a 7.3 MW shock in May - 200 more fatalities

Question 10

why did liquefaction occur

Answer 10

localised liquefaction in Kathmandu due to lake sediments and high water table

Question 11

landslides and avalanches caused by the earthquake

Answer 11

4000 landslides

most severe in Langtang valley - destroying 3 villages and killing 52

everest avalanche killed 22

Question 12

economic impacts (4)

Answer 12

$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

Question 13

social impacts (4)

Answer 13

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

Question 14

environmental impacts (4)

Answer 14

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

Question 15

political impacts (3)

Answer 15

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

Question 16

name one impact which will have long term implications and explain

Answer 16

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

Question 17

how one of the impacts shows unequal impacts of the earthquake within society

Answer 17

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

Question 18

which impact was mainly caused due to the physical feature

Answer 18

Tibet people living on steep slopes - deggs model

Question 19

how did they mitigate the loss (4)

Answer 19

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

Question 20

how did they mitigate the vulnerability (4)

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what challenges did res cue efforts face in Nepal (2)

Answer 21

rainfall and aftershocks - potential secondary effects like landslides and building pancaking

government building and personal were lost - reduced preparedness

Question 22

tourism in Nepal

Answer 22

started to increase in 2009 - increased from 500,000 to 800,000 in 2012

in 2015 fell from 780,000 to 550,000