Some schools attempting to charge parents for quake repairs
Several schools have been caught and reprimanded for attempting to get money from parents for repairing quake-damaged schools. Some notes on this article: 100 Nepali rupees = 1 US dollar; Nepal uses its own calendar with different months than the Gregorian calendar (Baisakh = mid-April-mid-May, Jeth = mid-May-mid-June). http://www.myrepublica.com/society/item/23230-schools-cornering-parents-for-quake-repair-funds.html Curated topics from the […]
Professor’s low-cost school retrofit appears to have worked
A structural engineering professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological Institute has been implementing a low-cost retrofit for schools in SE Asia. “In Nepal, for instance, six school buildings which had their beam and column structures wrapped with low-cost materials like wire mesh and glass fibre withstood April’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake. “Student Laxmi Thapa, 17, who studies at […]
Non-profit’s school buildings fare well in EQ
The Room to Read-constructed building (right) survived both quakes unharmed, while the adjacent structure (left) was completely destroyed by the shaking. A San Francisco-based non-profit that builds schools and libraries in developing countries reports that its buildings fared well in the earthquake. “Of the 399 schools we assessed post-earthquake, just 7% of the classrooms Room […]
Documentary on Building Back Safer Schools
Since 2012, Anne Sanquini, a PhD candidate of Geological Sciences at Stanford University has led a study of seismic- resistant schools and public buildings suggested by the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) and engineers from the Department of Education with the help of Sundar Thapaliya, an MPH graduate from California State University. In 2014, Sanquini […]
Resilience in Nepal – Planning and Outcomes
At the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (Geneva, 2011), Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, remarked that “by our actions, we can either compound disasters or diminish them.” (c) UPI/Landov/Barcroft Media Communities have the power to keep natural hazards from turning into disasters. Resilient communities can bounce back from […]
Emergency Response in Rural Areas
One week has gone by after the Nepal Earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015. Aid was rushed to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. As of today, May 2, 2015 the electricity in Kathmandu has been turned back on, and while it is not constant, this has brought relief for many of the residents. However, […]
Immediate Aid and Long-Term Recovery Efforts
In the wake of the recent Nepal earthquake, the distribution of immediate aid is at the forefront of response efforts made by the Nepali government, the United Nations, and other local and foreign aid organizations. However, long term recovery efforts are just as important in order to prevent a similar state of affairs in the […]
Maps and Infographics of Earthquake Impact
Please see the link below for: Death toll by region Extent of outdoor shelters Mount Everest maps and diagrams Destruction estimates Aftershocks within various time-frames post-main event http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/25/world/asia/nepal-earthquake-maps.html Curated topics from the April 25, 2015, Nepal Earthquake to help inform reconnaissance activities, identify impacted regions, and help document the timeline of earthquake response/recovery. Information […]
Issues with Coordinating Aid Effort
In the days following the earthquake, the United States, China, and India began an aid effort in Nepal by organizing and sending search-and-rescue teams, foreign aid workers, and medical supplies to the country. A week after the earthquake, 16 countries have sent materials and supplies for aid relief. Organizations such as Unicef were prepared for the earthquake prior to […]
Planning for the Future: How to create a resilient and sustainable Nepal
One of the biggest questions after a natural disaster is: “how will we rebuild?” This is a careful balance of rebuilding too fast with poor construction, and taking too long to plan. The media puts a lot of pressure on governments to plan and rebuild quickly after a disaster; however, strategic planning and reflection upon […]