Victims Of Earthquake, Nepal

Restoring Hope and Putting smiles once again on the faces of those affected by the earthquake in Nepal, 2015. Our Story: On Saturday, 25 April 2015 at 11:56 local time, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake as recorded by Nepal’s National Seismological Centre (NSC), struck Barpak in the historic district of Gorkha, about 76 km northwest of Kathmandu. Nepal had not faced a natural shock of comparable magnitude for over 80 years. The catastrophic earthquake was followed by more than 300 aftershocks greater than magnitude 4.0 (as of 7 June 2015). Four aftershocks were greater than magnitude 6.0, including one measuring 6.8 which struck 17 days after the first big one with the epicentre near Mount Everest. To date, there are over 8,790 casualties and 22,300 injuries. It is estimated that the lives of eight million people, almost one-third of the population of Nepal, have been impacted by these earthquakes. Thirty-one of the country’s 75 districts have been affected, out of which 14 were declared ‘crisis-hit’ for the purpose of prioritizing rescue and relief operations; another 17 neighbouring districts are partially affected.

The destruction was widespread covering residential and government buildings, heritage sites, schools and health posts, rural roads, bridges, water supply systems, agricultural land, trekking routes, hydropower plants and sports facilities. The geodetic network centres including horizontal and vertical control points have been damaged in a manner that will affect reconstruction planning.
Rural areas in the central and western regions were particularly devastated and further isolated due to road damage and obstructions. In the worst hit areas, entire settlements, including popular tourist destinations like Langtang, were swept away by landslides and avalanches triggered by the earthquakes. Due to the weakened, ruptured, and destabilized slopes and surfaces, the vulnerable areas have now become even more susceptible to flooding and landslides that can occur during the monsoon.

Hundreds of historical and cultural monuments at least a century old were either destroyed or extensively damaged. Over half a million houses were destroyed. The damage exposed the weaknesses of houses that did not have any seismic-resistant features or were not in accordance with the building codes. The disaster also highlighted aspects of inequities in Nepali society spanning geography, income and gender. Poorer rural areas have been more adversely affected than towns and cities due to their inferior quality of houses. More women and girls died than men and boys, partly because of gendered roles that disproportionately assign indoor chores to women.

The time and day the first earthquake was experienced saved thousands of lives. Being a Saturday, the weekly holiday, schools across Nepal were closed on 25 April. The death toll of young people could have been much higher considering that nearly 7,000 schools were completely or significantly damaged. Similarly, if the earthquake had struck at night, and not in the middle of the day, there would certainly have been greater casualties.