Factors behind the fatalities Earthquake, 2015 Nepal

1. Factors behind the fatalities Earthquake,
2015 Nepal Prepared and presented by:
Manisha Hamal

2. 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

3. 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 districts Collapsed buildings in Kathmandu after the earthquake hit
Nepal. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock

4. • 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

5. Epi-centered village Barpark, Gorkha district, Nepal

6. Before and after pictures of some the
UNESCO heritages of Nepal

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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

19. •