Nepal Earthquake Case Study

Question 1

Earthquake location and nature:
Background info

Answer 1

April 25th 2015 at 11:56 am
80 km northwest of Kathmandu.
Magnitude 7.8
Depth of 15 km (very shallow).

Question 2

Risk/vulnerability

Answer 2

Nepal’s GNI is $2730 per capita (The UK’s is around $48000)
It is an LIC with high population density
Many of population live in remote villages accessible only by steep mountain passes so vulnerable to being blocked by landslides.
Infrastructure generally fairly poor with roads often unsurfaced, drinking water supplies vulnerable to contamination and electricity supplies frequently affected by power cuts.

Question 3

What were the impacts of the earthquake?

Answer 3

9,000 deaths
23,000 injuries
More than 700,000 damaged or destroyed houses in Nepal
Short term loss of tourism revenue
19 people killed and 120 injured from Mt Everest base camp avalanche

Question 4

What were the responses?

Answer 4

90% of Nepal’s military forces deployed in the initial search and rescue and effort
United Nations released $15 millions for emergency relief
Aid donated by a huge number of countries. The UK gave £73million, of which £23 million was donated by government and £50 million by the public.
One year after the earthquake 4 million people were estimated to still be in substandard temporary shelters.