THE NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
OF APRIL 25,2015
Part 3: Second day Happenings
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for
Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015
• A massive block of the Earth’s crust,
roughly 125 km (75 miles) long and 61
km (37 miles) wide, lurched 3 m
(10 feet) to the south Saturday over the
course of 30 seconds. Riding atop this
block of the crust was the capital of
Nepal — Kathmandu — and millions of
Nepalese.
SUNDAY
CAPITAL DEVASTATED; AFTERSHOCKS
CONTINUE; AT LEAST 2,500 PEOPLE
DEAD; AT LEAST 6,400 INJURED;
THOUSANDS NEEDING SHELTER, FOOD,
AND WATER; AVALANCHES; “S AND R”
OPERATIONS ENERGIZED AND INTERNATIONAL AID PLEDGED, BUT BOTH
HINDERED BY A M6.7 AFTERSHOCK
USA, India, Sri Lanka.
China, Russia, Pakistan and
European Union countries
are among those who have
pledged money and
assistance.
SUNDAY
• Nepal’s capital has become a tent city,
as thousands of displaced residents
stayed overnight in their dark gardens
or out on the rubble-littered streets,
afraid to go back inside because of
aftershocks that exacerbated existing
damage, triggered new avalanches on
Mount Everest, and hindered search and
rescue operations and all aspects of life.
Day 2 PHOTOS
CREDIT: ASSOCIATED
PRESS
These pictures are used only
for educational purposes with
zero financial benefit
DAMAGE, RUBBLE, AND NEEDS
EVERYWHERE (Credit: AP)
UNBELIEVABLE DAMAGE
(Credit: AP)
COLLAPSES (Credit: AP)
The older buildings, built of
wood and brick, stood little
chance in the strong ground
shaking.
Fifty per cent of the houses
and schools were destroyed
“Some entire families were
buried“
BHAKTAPUR: THOUSANDS NEEDING
SHELTER, FOOD AND WATER (Credit: AP)
5,000 houses destroyed in
Bhaktapur alone means that
at least 30,000 to 40,000
people are homeless
TEMPORARY SHELTER IN
KATHMANDU (Credit: AP)
START OF A TENT CITY
(Credit: AP)
DAMAGED ROADS HINDER
LIFE (Credit: AP)
WEST BENGHAL,INDIA IMPACTED
ALSO (Credit: AP)
AFTERSHOCKS KEEP PEOPLE
OUTSIDE (Credit: AP)
DHARAHARA TOWER—100
DEAD (Credit: AP)
MEJU DEVAL TEMPLE
(Credit: AP)
CREMATION BEGINS
(Credit: AP)
AVALANCHE TRIGGERED ON MT
EVEREST (Credit: AP)
TRAPPED ON MOUNT
EVEREST
• Dozens of climbers remain trapped at
18,000 ft on the side of the mountain at
two base camps that are located above
the avalanche triggered by the main
shock on Saturday and energized again
by a large aftershock on Sunday.
RESCUE OPERATIONS ON MT
EVEREST HINDERED
• Helicopter teams began evacuating
critically injured climbers at base camp
at Mount Everest Sunday morning, but
the effort came to an abrupt halt when a
large aftershock occurred around 1:00
PM and triggered more avalanches,
elevating fear of of additional
casualties on the world’s highest peak.
RESCUE HELICOPTER AT MT
EVEREST BASE CAMP (Credit: AP)
TRAPPED ON MOUNT
EVEREST
• Survivors at the International Mount
Guide (IMG) camp at Everest Base
Camp, Nepal are examined for injuries
and prepared for helicopter evacuation.
RESCUE HELICOPTER AT MT
EVEREST BASE CAMP (Credit: AP)
MILITARY RESCUE TEAMS
(Credit: AP)
INDIA’S NATIONAL DISASTER
RESPONSE TEAM (Credit: AP)
RELIEF SUPPLIES FROM INDIA
WAITING TO GO (Credit: AP)
"From Moscow airfield" Ramenskoye "in Nepal flew two
planes Emergencies Ministry IL-76, carrying a combined
detachment rescue officers, the group with the
necessary equipment, machinery and equipment for
earthquake relief," - said the representative of the
Ministry of Emergency Situations.
RELIEF HINDERED BY A
LARGE AFTERSHOCK
• large aircraft headed to Kathmandu’s
Tribhuvan International Airport
carrying rescue personnel and aid
workers — as well as some journalists
— had to head back to New Delhi
because it was not safe to land, forcing
a further delay in S and R and relief
efforts.
RELIEF SUPPLIES FROM SRI LANKA
WAITING TO GO (Credit: AP)
TIBET IMPACTED ALSO (Credit: AP)
LESSON: THE KNOWLEDGE AND TIMING
OF ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS IS VITAL
• The people who know: 1) what to
expect (e.g., strong ground motion,
damage, collapses, trapped
survivors), 2) where and why they
will happen, and 3) what they
should (and should not) do to cope
with them will survive.
LESSON: TIMELY, REALISTIC
DISASTER SCENARIOS SAVE LIVES
• The people who have timely,
realistic, advance information that
facilitates reduction of
vulnerabilities, and hence the risks
associated with strong ground
shaking, ground failure, and
building collapses will survive.
LESSON: EMERGENCY RESPONSE
SAVES LIVES
• The “Uncontrollable and
Unthinkable” events will always
hinder the timing of emergency
response operations, especially the
search and rescue operations that
need to be complished within “the
golden 48 hours.”
LESSON: EMERGENCY MEDICAL
PREPAREDNESS SAVES LIVES
• The local community’s capacity for
emergency health care (i,e., coping
with damaged hospitals and medical
facilities, lack of clean drinking
water, food, and medicine, and
high levels of morbidity and
mortality) is vital for survival.
LESSON: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERED
BUILDINGS SAVE LIVES
• Buildings engineered to withstand
the risks from an earthquake’s
strong ground shaking and ground
failure that cause damage, collapse,
and loss of function, is vital for
protecting occupants and users
from death and injury.
LESSON: THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY ALWAYS PROVIDES AID
• The International Community
provides millions to billions of
dollars in relief to help “pick up the
pieces, ” but this strategy is not
enough by itself to ensure
earthquake disaster resilience.
FACT
MOST OF THE 200 + NATIONS
NEED EARTHQUAKE DISASTER
RESILIENCE POLICIES THAT ARE
BASED ON LESSONS LEARNED
FROM PAST EARTHQUAKE
DISASTER LABORATORIES
•MONITORING
•HAZARD MAPS
•INVENTORY
•VULNERABILITY
•LOCATION
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION
ACCEPTABLE RISK
RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
YOUR
BOOKS OF
KNOWLEDGE
COMMUNITY
EARTHQUAKE DISASTER
RESILIENCE
HAZARDS:
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
TSUNAMI RUN UP
AFTERSHOCKS
•PREPAREDNESS
•PROTECTION
•EM RESPONSE
•RECOSTRUCTION AND
RECOVERY
PILLARS OF EARTHQUAKE DISASTER
RESILIENCE
Preparedness
Protection: Adoption and Implementation of a
Modern Earthquake Engineering Building Code
and Lifeline Standards
Prevention: Land Use Planning and Base
Isolation
PILLARS OF EARTHQUAKE DISASTER
RESILIENCE (continued)
Monitoring
Realistic Earthquake Disaster Scenarios
Timely Emergency Response (including search
and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services)
Cost-Effective Recovery and Reconstruction
THE CHALLENGE:
CHANGING EXISTING POLICIES:
CREATE, ADJUST, AND REALIGN
PROGRAMS, PARTNERS AND PEOPLE UNTIL
YOU HAVE CREATED THE KINDS OF TURNING
POINTS NEEDED FOR MOVING TOWARDS
EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCE
AN UNDER-UTILIZED GLOBAL
STRATEGY
To Create Turning Points for
Earthquake Disaster Resilience
 USING EDUCATIONAL SURGES CONTAINING
THE PAST AND PRESENT LESSONS TO FOSTER
AND ACCELERATE POLICY CHANGES
MOVING TOWARDS THE MUSTHAPPEN GLOBAL STRATEGY
To Achieve Earthquake Disaster
Resilience
INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND
TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS WITH POLITICAL
SOLUTIONS IN EVERY NATION FOR
REALISTIC POLICIES ON PREPAREDNESS,
PROTECTION, DISASTER SCENARIOS,
EMERGENCY RESPONSE,
RECONSTRUCTION, AND RECOVERY