Earthquake Safety

On Tuesday's early morning, people in Kathmandu and some eastern districts of country woke up to the terror of a tremor, bringing the 2015 earthquake fresh to their minds. The seismic waves of a powerful earthquake that hit a remote village in Tibet Autonomous Region of China shook buildings in Nepal, India and Bhutan. China Earthquake Networks Centre reported that a magnitude of 6.8 earthquake struck Tingri, a rural Chinese county, also known as the northern gateway to the Mount Everest region. More than 100 people were killed, with scores of houses reduced to rubble in the Shigatse region of Tibet. However, no human casualties have been reported in Nepal. The ripples of quake from other side of border has once again reminded us of our vulnerability. This has been also seen as a dangerous prelude to a big tremblor, given that around a dozen small quakes have already shaken western districts of Nepal in the last three weeks.

Nepal stands at the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, which are ever-shifting, creating a precarious situation. According to the news report published in this daily, ten different earthquakes of more than 4 magnitudes were recorded, mainly in western districts. Although the repetitive earthquakes are releasing minor amounts of subterranean energy, experts say these are not enough to release the gigantic stress that has built up beneath the region. Western Nepal has not experienced a mega-quake since 1505, leaving over five centuries of seismic energy unreleased. Today's earthquake adds to the alarming pattern. The energy release has shown how much devastation a future quake can wreak on badly prepared, highly populous cities like Kathmandu. 

It is interesting to note that the Gorkha earthquake in 2015 released energy that had been stored beneath 150 kilometres of Himalayas; substantial amounts of stress remain stored, particularly to the south of Kathmandu and also in Western Nepal. This, in fact, underlines the harsh reality that demands immediate change in disaster preparedness within the country. Though better on both response mechanisms and awareness compared with the situation in 2015, glaring gaps remain. In places like Kathmandu, cities are burdened by unplanned construction, non-compliance with building codes, and lack of adequate resilient infrastructure. In rural regions, vulnerabilities are enhanced further by inadequate resources and delays in disaster relief. 

This is now a time for reflection on how adequately Nepal is prepared in case another such disaster strikes.  Records from the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre show that, on average, Nepal records 10 earthquakes daily, which indicates continuous seismic activity below the Himalayas. The frequent occurrence of smaller earthquakes should not give authorities and citizens a false sense of security. Creating public awareness, regular earthquake safety drills, and community-level disaster management training is essential to cope with the unprecedented disaster. 

Additionally, the concerned authorities need to make investments in the early warning system, improvement of coordination between the national and subnational agencies, and allocation of emergency funds. Of equal concern is the absence of regional cooperation in seismic hazards. Major earthquakes have a transboundary impact, and countries such as Nepal, China, India, and Bhutan have to cooperate in increasing preparedness, sharing data, and coordinating response to the future quakes so that loss of lives and properties can be reduced to minimum.