Nepal Earthquake (2015)

Question 1

General facts

Answer 1

• developing country

- population of 26.5 million

Question 2

What happened?

Answer 2

-magnitude 7.8 earthquake

Question 3

Impacts

Answer 3

• 9000 died, 22,000 injured

- 500,000 houses collapsed or were seriously damaged

Question 4

Why was this worse than Bam?

Answer 4

• Nepal is a multihazard zone, landslides and floods can also occur
• low level of development means much of the local earthquake science is out of date - the current seismic map is over 20 years old
• Kathmandu Valley has a population of 2.5 million and a very high population density
• poor and socially excluded groups are less able to absorb shocks than well-positioned, wealthier households
• because of poverty, many people build their own houses which don’t follow building codes