Nepal
2015 Earthquake
The Disaster
On April 25th, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the historic district of Gorkha, part of the wider Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Hundreds of thousands of buildings collapsed or were damaged in the earthquake, resulting in almost 9,000 deaths and 22,000 injuries. Many of these buildings were older, unreinforced, adobe or masonry structures. Throughout the impacted areas, infrastructure was also damaged or destroyed, including schools, hospitals, water and sanitation systems, and transportation and communication networks. The earthquake triggered landslides and avalanches in the Himalaya Mountains, killing 22 hikers, and forcing the cancellation of the 2015 Mt Everest climbing season.
Influence of Social and Cultural Capital
As a result of the earthquake, UNESCO world heritage sites, including royal palaces, monuments, and temples located in Dunbar Square and Kathmandu village, were either destroyed or severely damaged. While these heritage sites were popular among tourists, many were also visited daily by locals to perform cultural and religious practices. Photos of undamaged buildings were displayed where many buildings used to stand, magnifying the cultural loss of the earthquake. Many of these sites were eventually rebuilt, through post-disaster reconstruction funding but also through voluntourism efforts.
Social capital was deeply impacted through the loss of lives and internal displacement as people were placed in shelters away from their communities and livelihoods. However, the influx of remittances from family members and friends living or working outside of Nepal assisted in rebuilding damaged homes and providing living expenses. Thousands of migrant workers returned home to assist with reconstruction and recovery. The disaster brought community elders together as they discussed how to build earthquake resilient structures. The younger generation came together to promote the significance of recovering their heritage through songs and dance, highlighting the interconnections between social and cultural capital.
Tourism and Recovery
The earthquake destroyed tourism infrastructure, such as inns, hostels, restaurants, and tourist sites, negatively impacting tourist numbers for months. Pre-earthquake, Kathmandu had approximately 790,000 tourist arrivals, decreasing by one-third in 2015 to 539,000. With tourism being a vital contributor to the country’s GDP, the economic loss was estimated at around US $6 billion. However, tourism numbers recovered quickly, with 729,000 tourist arrivals in 2016.
Intriguingly, the number of tourists arriving for business and official purposes decreased after the earthquake, although tourists arriving for holidays, trekking and mountaineering, and pilgrimage increased, particularly among the 16-60 age cohort. A substantial proportion of tourists were engaged in ‘volunteer tourism’, also known as ‘voluntourism’. Volunteer efforts provided support with reconstruction of buildings, providing free medical and dental clinics, and working on water supply projects. Another contributor to recovery came from “dark” tourism, defined as tourists interested in seeing the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Building Resilience
After the 2015 earthquake, governments and local communities emphasized the importance of combining modern earthquake-resistant design while maintaining the authenticity of historical and cultural architectural details. This was achieved through a revised building code and supported by the fact that cultural sites that had previously been renovated with earthquake-resistant standards, such as Mul Chowk and Sundari Chowk in Patan, had survived the earthquake. Part of these efforts included ensuring that all builders had undergone training to ensure the safety of the structures and monitoring of development proposals for code-compliance before approving building permits. Other initiatives have included integrating renewable energy in public and community infrastructure, providing communities with more water and sanitation facilities, and improving disaster response and management.
