Other
Life After the Nepal Quakes: Inequality, Rapid Change and Slow Progress
(2017)
Abstract
More than eighteen months have passed since the devastating Nepal earthquakes of April and May 2015. The quakes claimed 9,182 lives, injured 22,300 and damaged or destroyed 755,549 private houses and 6,278 government buildings. The mountainous districts of Gorkha and Rasuwa were among the most devastated, both by the earthquakes and subsequent landslides. It will take years for survivors in the hardest-hit districts to return to their previous ways of life. Out of necessity, many are attempting to find new opportunities. Most continue to live in temporary circumstances, such as shelters built from corrugated galvanized iron and bamboo, waiting for assistance. Thousands whose settlements were irrevocably damaged continue to live in displacement camps, uncertain as to whether they will ever return to their homes or be relocated. Some have rebuilt on their own, typically through high-interest loans, remittances from abroad, or work exchange. Monetary resources aside, building materials, skilled carpenters and masons are scarce. Weather patterns in the region are increasingly erratic, and extreme rainfall events are making already precarious slopes even more prone to dangerous landslides.
Keywords
- Earthquakes – Nepal
Disciplines
Publication Date
January, 2017
Citation Information
Jeremy Spoon. "Life After the Nepal Quakes: Inequality, Rapid Change and Slow Progress" (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeremy_spoon/18/