Summary OCR A Level Geography - HAZARDOUS EARTH case study - Nepal earthquake

EARTHQUAKE – NEPAL (LIDC)
BACKGROUND

 Collision plate boundary – Indian plate and Eurasian plate
 Triggered an avalanche on Everest killing 21 people
 51 aftershocks above 5Mw (every 15 mins)

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND POLITICAL IMPACTS – Gorkha earthquake 2015 – 7.8

Social

 9000 killed, 3.5 million homeless
 More women died than men due to traditional role in the home- especially rural areas  gender inequality
 Lower-caste Tibeto-Burman people more affected as live on higher slopes in Himalayas  class inequality
 Poor quality housing in rural area was more badly affected than in the cities  spatial inequality
 Many survivors esp women and children were victims of human trafficking – took advantage of chaos

Economic

 Economic losses up to $10 billion – devastating as GDP is only $20 billion
 Tourism decreased by 70% - tourism accounts for almost 10% of economy
 Severe damage to 4 out of 7 UNESCO sites in the country  decreased tourism
 Earthquake damaged 14 HEP plants out of 23  25% loss of electricity capacity

Environmental

 3000 landslides  flooding - rivers are blocked and moraine lakes burst
 Several large avalanches eg Langtang Valley and Everest
 Climate change will exacerbate effects of eq – more rainfall  more landslides (already loosened by eq)

Political

 Political instability meant Nepal was not well prepared for eq – hospitals became overwhelmed quickly
 Government pledged $4.1 billion of overseas aid however increased debt in long term
 UN gave $15 million from its emergency response fund
 Earthquake worsened already weak political stability

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR SEISMIC ACTIVITY

Modify event – not possible however afforestation programmes to enhance slope stability  decreased landslides

Modify vulnerability

 Introduced small scale education programmes
 Encouraged households to have a ‘go-bag’ containing food, water, blankets for use in an eq emergency
 Mapping of high-risk shake zones
 Building codes introduced

LIDC so limited funding and resources – difficult to plan effectively

Modify losses

 90% of Nepalese army deployed to help search and rescue efforts – however relief was a physical barrier
 India dispatched 1,000 members of its Disaster Response Team, including 8 military helicopters
 330 humanitarian agencies involved eg Red Cross Red Crescent provided shelter, and provided safe burials
for families

LIDC so resources limited and therefore dependent on actions international organisations eg UN, individual countries
eg India and NGOs eg Red Cross – shows low resilience. Also, relief = physical barrier to aid, and comms = difficult.