Aftermath of Gorkha–Nepal Earthquake 2015: Lessons Learnt

Abstract

An earthquake disaster is the most terrifying disaster in Nepal, but Nepal is no limited to just earthquakes; there are also disasters such as floods, landslides, fires, avalanches, windstorms, hailstorms, lightning, glacier lake outburst floods, epidemics, droughts and so on. There have been many occurrences of earthquake disasters in Nepal that have caused heavy casualty losses and physical property damages, adversely affecting the overall development of the country. Nepal’s proximity to earthquake hazards is mainly due to her young and fragile geology. Haphazard and unplanned settlements and poor construction practice are the other reasons that have made her highly vulnerable to earthquake impacts. Nepal may have encountered many earthquakes throughout history; it has the record for the greatest loss of life dating back to the 12th century. Since then Nepal has encountered 16 major earthquakes, including the devastating Gorkha-Nepal earthquake of 25 April 2015 (Figure 1). Abstract