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These Are the 5 Facts That Explain Nepal’s Devastating Earthquake

4 minute read

The earthquake that ravaged Nepal, killing at least 5,000 people, has revealed the best and worst both in the Himalayan nation and those rushing to its aid. These 5 facts explain what’s shaping the domestic and international responses to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, and where Nepal goes from here.

1. Quick to aid

Aid pledges are pouring in: $10 million from the US, $7.6 million from the UK, and $3.9 million from Australia, among others. But as welcome as this influx of funds is, the sad reality is that Nepal is ill-equipped to make full use of these resources. That is why countries are lining up to donate technical expertise via disaster response teams as well. China has sent a 62-member search-and-rescue team to help the recovery effort. Israel has sent 260 rescue experts in addition to a 200-person strong medical team, while Japan has sent another 70 people as part of a disaster relief team. The United Nations, in addition to releasing $15 million from its central emergency-response fund, is busy trying to coordinate international efforts to maximize their effectiveness.

(TIME, Quartz, Wall Street Journal)

2. A weak base

Nepal’s infrastructure was critically feeble even before disaster struck. With per capita GDP less than $700 a year, many Nepalese build their own houses without oversight from trained engineers. Nepal tried to institute a building code in 1994 following another earthquake that claimed the lives of 700 people, but it turned out to be essentially unenforceable. To make matters worse, a shortage of paved roads in the country means that assistance can’t reach remote regions where it’s needed most. Local authorities are simply overwhelmed, as is Nepal’s sole international airport in Kathmandu. Planes filled with blankets, food and medicine are idling on tarmacs because there are not enough terminals available.

(TIME, Washington Post, TIME)

3. Half a year’s output gone?

The economic cost of the earthquake is estimated to be anywhere between $1 billion to $10 billion, for a country with an annual GDP of approximately $20 billion. The economic impact will be lasting. Tourism is crucial to the Nepalese economy, accounting for about 8 percent of the total economy and employing more than a million people. Mount Everest, a dangerous destination under the best of circumstances, is the heart of that industry. The earthquake this past weekend triggered an avalanche that took the lives of at least 17 climbers, and as many as 200 people are still stranded on the mountain.

(Quartz, Deutsche Welle, Wall Street Journal, The Independent)

4. Internal political barriers

Nepal’s domestic politics are not helping. Nepal’s 1996-2006 civil war claimed the lives of at least 12,000 Nepalese, and the country’s political system has never really recovered. The government that stood before the quake was woefully ill-prepared to deal with a disaster of such scale. There have been no elections at the district, village or municipal level for nearly 20 years, and the committees in charge of local councils are not organized enough to deal with the difficult task of coordinating emergency assistance. Things are not much better at the national level, where Kathmandu has seen nine prime ministers in eight years.

(Washington Post, New York Times, TIME)

5. A competition for influence

Not all foreign aid is altruistic, and some countries never miss an opportunity to capitalize on tragedy. For years, Nepal has been an object of competition between India and China. For India, Nepal has been a useful buffer state between itself and China ever since Beijing gained control over Tibet. Relative to China, India and Nepal are much closer linguistically and culturally. Nepalese soldiers train in India, and New Delhi is a main weapons supplier to Nepal. For China, Nepal is an important component of its “New Silk Road” plan to link Asia with Europe, and offers a useful ally against Tibetan independence. China was already Nepal’s biggest foreign investor as of 2014. While in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake both Asian powers are providing significant assistance, it’s in the reconstruction phase where the true competition between the two will emerge. Pay particular attention to the race to build hydroelectric power plants: both Beijing and New Delhi have been positioning themselves to take advantage of Nepal’s 6,000 rivers to feed their respective energy needs.

(Quartz, BBC, TIME)

Witness the Aftermath of Nepal's Devastating Earthquake

A Nepali boy stands amidst earthquake damage in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley on April. 28, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A Nepalese boy stands amid earthquake damage in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, April 28, 2015, three days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake had hit the country. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A Nepali man carries recovered belongings through the street in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley on April. 28, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A Nepalese man carries recovered belongings through the streets of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, April. 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
People atop damaged buildings in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 26, 2015. The historic Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in an earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
People stand on top of a damaged building in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. The historic Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in the earthquake.Adam Ferguson for TIME
Hindu Nepali women mourn the loss of four family members who were killed in the earthquake on April 25th, at the site of funeral pyres on the river Kathmandu on April. 28, 2015. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A group of Hindu Nepalese women mourn the loss of four family members who were killed in the earthquake at the site of funeral pyres on the river of Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A crowd watches Indian forces excavating collapsed apartments looking for bodies and survivors of Saturdays Earthquake, in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A crowd watches Indian forces excavating collapsed apartments, looking for bodies and survivors in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepali forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 26, 2015. This as well as historic Durbar Square, both UNESCO world heritage sites, were severely damaged in an earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Nepalese forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. The building, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in the earthquake. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepali people flee buildings during an aftershock in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Nepalese people flee buildings during an aftershock in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Indian and Nepali forces attempt to identify a body after it was recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Indian and Nepalese forces attempt to identify a body after it was recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015.Adam Ferguson for TIME
A Hindu Nepali man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake in Nepal, on the river in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A Hindu Nepalese man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepali forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 26, 2015. This as well as historic Durbar Square, both UNESCO world heritage sites, were severely damaged in an earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Nepalese forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, April. 26, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepali forces clear fallen bamboo from ruins in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 26, 2015. The historic Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in an earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Nepalese forces clear fallen bamboo from ruins in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepali children walk through the street in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley on April. 28, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Nepalese children walk through the street in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Workers repair power lines in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 28, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Workers repair power lines in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Indian and Nepali forces excavate a body from collapsed apartments in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Indian and Nepalese forces excavate a body from collapsed apartments in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepalis retrieve belongings from earthquake damaged homes in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley on April 29, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
Nepalese people retrieve belongings from damaged homes in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepal_Earthquake_2015_03236.JPG
Nepalese women mourn relatives lost in the earthquake in Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
Nepal_Earthquake_2015_03113.JPG
People walk through the damaged streets in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A displaced Nepali family take shelter in a tent in a park in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A displaced Nepalese family takes shelter in a tent in a Kathmandu park, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A mother looks at her son who was injured in the April 25th earthquake, at the Nepal and India Trauma Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 29, 2015. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A mother looks at her son who was injured in the earthquake, at the Nepal and India Trauma Center in Kathmandu, April 29, 2015.Adam Ferguson for TIME
Earthquake, Kathmandu, Nepal
Emergency rescue workers clear debris and search for survivors in Katmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A body recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A body recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A Nepali man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake in Nepal, on the river in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 28, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A Nepalese man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
A funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake in Nepal, on the river in Kathmandu, Nepal on April. 27, 2015. Nepal had a severe earthquake on April 25th. Photo by Adam Ferguson for Time
A funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME

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