Nepal Earthquake 2015

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

. 25th April 2015
. 7.8 on Richter scale and depth of only 15km
. Epicentre just outside capital of Kathmandu

Question 2

Cause

Answer 2

Release of pressure at the Indian/Eurasian destructive plate boundary where both plates are continental

Question 3

Primary Effects

Answer 3

• Around 8600 people were killed immediately
• 14 500 injured
• 18 climbers were killed at Mt Everest base camp due to avalanches and rock falls
• 45 000 classrooms damaged
• Landslides killed 2500 people
• 600 000 homes destroyed (poor foundations)
• 50% of shops were lost leading to a loss of livelihood
• 7000 schools destroyed
• Ancient monuments such as Dharahara tower in Kathmandu was destroyed

Question 4

Secondary Effects

Answer 4

• 2.8 million people made homeless
• Will take a decade to recover financially
• 1.1 million children will be denied access to an education
• Series of aftershocks damaged more buildings and slowed down the responses
• Landslides damaged harvests leading to long term lack of food supplies
• Tourism was reduced due to damage to heritage sites and closing of Everest, occurred in main tourist season
• Following year 72% reduction in tourists
• $6.6 billion as the total cost of rebuilding
• People slept in the open, afraid to go back into the remains of their home due to aftershock

Question 5

Short term responses

Answer 5

• People dug with their bare hands to try and find loved ones
• Funeral piers set up in the street to dispose of the dead
• Rescue teams with equipment sent from USA, UK, Pakistan, Germany and India
• Disaster emergency committee (DEC) launched appeal and 310 000 people were helped. UK public donated £41 million
• Oxfam also provided clean water to over 400 000 people
• Islamic relief provided 2500 meals to families
• Oxfam installed a 11 000 L water tank and provided a total of 58 000 L of water
• Oxfam installed waterproof shelters and protected livestock
• The UK sent 100 search and rescue responders, medical experts, and disaster and rescue experts were sent together with three Chinook (one crashed in 2015 due to rocky terrain) helicopters for use by the Nepali government
• The GIS tool “Crisis mapping” was used to coordinate the response
• Dogs in search and rescue

Question 6

Long term responses

Answer 6

• Asian development bank gave $200 million to help the rebuilding process
• Medical teams remain active and are educating people in how to respond in future
• New national building codes have been created and are starting to be enforced
• Facebook designed a safety check for future disasters to enable people to tell loved ones they are ok
• Nepalese soldiers and UK engineers assessed the damaged areas and worked to ensure all buildings that were still standing were safe
• Oxfam ran a cash for work programme, helping 15 000 people to earn as they rebuilt their homes, women trained i carpentry
• International aid was provided by India and China who in total committed over $1 billion to help support Nepal
• A new government taskforce was created to help deal with future earthquakes
• People are now being educated across Nepal to do earthquake drills
• Christian Aid which distributed water purification tablets and 10,000 hygiene kits for 50,000 people
• Temporary schools were set up using the UN “education in a box” resources, to try to keep some sense of normality in their lives, 15,000
• Government trying to reduce poverty

Question 7

Nepal risk

Answer 7

. In 2015 it ranked 157th out of 185 for wealth with a GDP of just $2465 per year
. Landlocked country bordering china, India and Bhutan (NEEs and LICs)
. No ports
. Near Himalayas - mountainous terrain
. On a destructive plate boundary (continental-continental)
. Poor infrastructure
. Only had one airport which was destroyed
. Prone to secondary hazards e.g. avalanches, landslides

Question 8

Response issues

Answer 8

• One year on 13,000 still lived in temporary camps
• Donors pledged more than $4 billion to the NRA but little of the money has been used for rehabilitation, fewer than 10% have been rebuilt
• Donations not translated into clear plan
• Some local leaders have worked with their communities but are not a substitute for a strong government
• Schools in earthquake affected areas officially reopened on 31 May, but close to one million children do not have schools to return to