Nepal earthquake

Question 1

earthquakes in Nepal

Answer 1

situated on a collision zone with Indo-Australian plate meets the Eurasian plate
geological structure of valleys increases seismic risk because as waves pass through soft sediment in Kathmandu Valley, they are amplified
lots of liquefaction

Question 2

earthquake factfile: nepal

Answer 2

25th April 2015
7.8Mw
slip along the main frontal thrust in the collision zone
epicentre is 90km NE of Kathmandu
many landslides and avalanches
tremors felt in India and China
51 aftershoks above 5Mw

Question 3

social impacts: Nepal

Answer 3

8800 fatalities in Nepal and 160 in other countries
avalanches on everest killed 20 climbers
2.8 million people displaced
473 000 houses destroyed or badly damaged
1 million people required food assistance
culturally important locations damaged including site of Bhaktapur

Question 4

economic impacts: Nepal

Answer 4

cost to national economy of USD 10 billion
tourism accounts for 10% of economy and badly impacted, everest closed for 2015 climbing season
ADB provided 200 million to aid reconstruction
disrupted planing season causing food insecurity

Question 5

political impacts

Answer 5

previous political instability (including assassinations and coups), however the country was becoming more stable until the earthquake.
international aid created tensions with Indonesia, which was accused of trying to use humanitarian aid to self promote in the region