Nepal earthquake

Tragedy has struck Nepal – as a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country on Saturday. Over 2,000 people are estimated to be dead, thousands are injured and many more are believed to be still potentially trapped underneath the rubble in major Nepalese cities. The death toll of the deadliest earthquake in Nepal in the last 80 years has been accentuated by modern construction practices of building earthquake unsafe architecture. Over 700 have died in the city of Kathmandu alone. The earthquake was powerful enough to trigger avalanches on Mount Everest, leading to 17 deaths. The loss of human life is compounded by the loss of human civilisation: Durbar Square, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the famous Dharahara Tower have been reduced to rubble. Located at the meeting point of the Indian and Central Asian tectonic plates, which are converging by 4-5 cm a year, Nepal is venerable to constant low level earthquakes. Dozens of aftershocks have jolted the region, including at least two major aftershocks of 6.8 and 6.6 magnitude, which led to the collapse of even more buildings. The fear of the aftershocks led almost everyone in the country to sleep outdoors for the last two nights.
Considering the scale of the human tragedy, the international response has been to commit the bare minimum. The US has promised $1 million, Australia has promised $5 million while India and Pakistan, who are part of the Saarc alliance with Nepal, have only offered medical supplies and doctors. Landslides have blocked roads leading to major difficulties in delivering whatever little aid is available. Stories of people running for their lives as the quake struck are terrifying. However, the inability of the international community to send aid workers, money and equipment immediately will lead to hundreds more dying needlessly. The states of Utter Pradesh, Bihar and Sikkim in India, which share a border with Nepal, have also reported damage and the tremors could be felt even in faraway Lahore. Earthquake response experts have said that more needed to be done in terms of preparing both the architecture and the people of Nepal for a major tremor. Memories of the unprepared response to the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan’s northern areas – which killed 75,000 people – have come alive. The questions over Pakistan’s preparation for another such earthquake remain as pertinent as they were a decade ago. But right now, the Pakistani government and the rest of the international community must step forward and support Nepal’s people through this devastating natural calamity.