Factors behind the fatalities Earthquake, 2015 Nepal Prepared and presented by:

Manisha Hamal

Background

• 1st earthquake in April 25th with 7.8

magnitude, epicenter Barpak village,

Gorkha district, 81 km northwest from

capital

• May 12th 7.3 magnitude, Sunkhani

Dolakha district, 76 km northeast from

capital

Aftermaths

• Property loss- approximately USD 8

million

• More than 16,000 public and private

schools have been damaged

• 90% of houses in rural part

collapsed

• More than 500 people gone missing

• Nepal had to declared emergency

situation for 14 districtsCollapsed buildings in Kathmandu after the earthquake hit Nepal. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock

• People in 39 districts have been affected

• 8702 deaths

• 600,000 people internally displaced

• Number of people injured- 22,493 out of which 6% had

spinal cord injuries (SCI), 2% had amputations, 4%

with sustained traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and the

majority were with fractures (Sheppard & Landry,

2016)

• Mostly injured were in districts Kathmandu, Lalitpur

and Bhaktapur

• Most of the death were in Sindhupalchowk followed

by Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Dhading Source- UNHCR, 2015

Epi-centered village Barpark, Gorkha district, Nepal

Before and after pictures of some the UNESCO heritages of Nepal

Factors for casualties and human losses In 2014, Chile was hit by 3 earthquakes of more than 8 magnitude but only 11 deaths, whereas in Nepal the

magnitude was similar but so many fatalities and the reason for this is:

Earthquake was so powerful and destructive because of its shallow depth from 7 to 10 miles, so powerful that it

moved Mount Everest by more than an inch

Long ground motion which continued for more than 2 minutes, hard for people to escape

Most victims were in Kathmandu, and the reason is this city lies in a basin filled with about 2000 feet of

sediments from a former lake and these sedimentary basins worked as an amplifier, Mexico city is another city

with similar structure and1985 earthquake was destructive

Big and small aftershocks which continued for more than a month, 2nd earthquake was because of the aftershock

Landslides and floods caused by earthquake, blocked the transportation to rural areas, people died and got

disabled, without assistance and help

Factors contd….

• No prior notification

• Low construction standards, most houses and buildings in rural areas

not seismically designed and constructed, people died and injured

crushed in the collapsed buildings and bridges

• Less prepared government, crowed and unplanned buildings, unstable

political system, unevenly distributed geographical conditions, and

weak surveillance system

Vulnerable population during the disaster• The most vulnerable people were single women, aged population, children and

population with pre-disabilities

• 460,000 of old age people above 60 years were vulnerable

• Nearly 1.4 million children affected

• 105,600-195,960 persons with pre- disabilities are assumed to be directly affected

by earthquake

• Moreover, among the affected 163043 older women aged 65 and over and 39987

women with disabilities were even more vulnerable

Earthquake and its consequences in victims

• The number of disabled persons in Nepal has likely increased

• During this earthquake disaster, those who were already physically and mentally ill were among those

mostly affected including children

• As per a survey conducted among 500 direct hit victims of mostly affected district Bhaktapur, almost

half of them met the criteria of 'psychiatric caseness'. Among people living in the mental health camp

common problems were depression, stress related disorders, anxiety and somatoform disorders.

• Nepal didn't face any epidemics or whatsoever, as there was an early warning response and alert system

established, moreover, the disease surveillance system was also strengthened in affected areas by

different INGOs engaged in the relief and rescue program so that they could prevent outbreaks of

communicable diseases

Challenges faced by victims during and after disaster

• discriminations related to caste, gender, ethnicity, and class

• daily problems in accessibilities to buildings, transportation and moving around their own locality due to difficult

terrains, spatial exclusion, and in some cases their old age

• risks to harassment and abuse in camps

• For disabled people low chances of getting married

• decreases one’s status and low self-steem

• Disabled people experience stigmatization and negative stereotypes that cast them as unproductive and dependent

• social isolation and exclusion

• unemployed

• Mental illness like depression, anxiety, stress

Conclusion

• Based on the geological and seismic history, Nepal is always at the risk of

earthquake and the past 3 earthquake 1505, 1833 and 1934 are the examples

• Moreover, landslides and flood are other natural disasters which frequently occur in

Nepal causing physical and mental effect

• The shallow and powerful earthquake with longer ground motions, continuous and

numerous aftershocks, geographical structure, weak surveillance system, no prior

notification, unstructured buildings, lack of preparedness, unorganized and un-

coordinated response system, unstable political system and poverty were the direct

and indirect factors causing those massive fatalities in Nepal

• Well preparedness is most to cope with further disasters

Recommendations

• Disaster risk reduction protocol needs to be implemented from urban to rural areas

• Building evacuation procedure, building inspection and tagging, and construction with

retrofitting (low-cost solutions) need to be implemented

• Building codes specific to hospitals and health facilities need to be developed and enforced

• Enacting legislation for safety from hazards

• Formulating strategies for rural land management, planning and building

• Improving quality of education on disaster mitigation and preparedness

• Strong surveillance and prior notification system

• Stable political system

Surviving story

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aNUMolRLfA

•