THE NEPAL EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 25,2015 Part 2: Happenings During the First 24 Hours Walter Hays,...

THE NEPAL EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 25,2015

Part 2: Happenings During the First 24 Hours

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA Virginia, USA 

UPDATED REPORT AS OF SATURDAY NIGHT:

AT LEAST 1,400 PEOPLE DEAD; MANY INJURED; MANY MAY BE

TRAPPED UNDER RUBBLE

NEPAL: COLLISION OF EURASIAN AND INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATES

NEPAL: COLLISION OF EURASIAN AND INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATES

NEPAL: A NATION OF 27.8 MILLION

LOCATION: LAMJUNG—80 km NW of Kathmandu (USGS)

KATHMANDU, THE CAPITAL, DEVASTATED

The Kathmandu Valley is densely populated with nearly 2.5 million people,

and the quality of building construction is often poor

KATHMANDU SKYLINE: BEFORE THE QUAKE

TECTONIC DEFORMATION

EARTHQUAKE

TSUNAMI

GROUND

SHAKING

FAULT RUPTURE

FOUNDATION FAILURE

SITE AMPLIFICATION

LIQUEFACTION

LANDSLIDES

AFTERSHOCKS

SEICHE

DAMAGE/LOSSDAMAGE/LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSSDAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/LOSSDAMAGE/LOSS

INADEQUATE RESISTANCE TO HORIZONTAL GROUND SHAKING

EARTHQUAKESEARTHQUAKES

SOIL AMPLIFICATION

PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT (SURFACE FAULTING & GROUND

FAILURE)

IRREGULARITIES IN ELEVATION AND PLAN

FIRE FOLLOWING RUPTURE OF UTILITIES

LACK OF DETAILING AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

INATTENTION TO NON-STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

CAUSES OF DAMAGE

CAUSES OF DAMAGE

GLOBAL “DISASTER

LABORATORIES”

GLOBAL “DISASTER

LABORATORIES”

SIZE, LOCATION, AND DEPTH AFFECT DAMAGE

• The quake's hypocenter was only 11 kilometers (7 miles) --- The bigger, shallower, and closer the quake is, the more destructive it usually is.

• Witnesses said the trembling and swaying of the earth went on for several minutes.

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKECREDIT: ASSOCIATED

PRESS

These pictures are used only for educational purposes with

zero financial benefit

DAMAGE (Credit: AP)

DAMAGED BUILDING (Credit: AP)

DAMAGED BUILDING (Credit: AP)

DAMAGED TEMPLE (Credit: AP)

SURVIVORS OUTSIDE TEMPLE (Credit: AP)

DAMAGED HOUSES (Credit: AP)

COLLAPSED BUILDING (Credit: AP)

TAXI BURIED IN DEBRIS (Credit: AP)

BASANTAPUR DUBAR SQUARE Credit: AP)

BASANTAPUR DUBAR SQUARE Credit: AP)

BASANTAPUR DUBAR SQUARE Credit: AP)

CLEARING DERBIS (Credit: AP)

CLEARING DEBRIS (Credit: AP)

DEVASTATION AT SURBURBAN LALITPUR (Credit: AP)

DAMAGED ROAD: (Credit: AP)

DOWNED ELECTRICAL LINES: (Credit: AP)

SAVING ANIMALS: (Credit: AP)

SIRVIVORS TRAPPED INSIDE: (Credit: AP)

SEARCH AND RESCUE: DAHARA TOWER: (Credit: AP)

SURVIVORS OUTSIDE MEDICARE HOSPITAL (Credit: AP)

INJURED TREATED OUTSIDE MEDICARE HOSPITAL (Credit: AP)

TRANSPORTING INJURED WO-MAN TO LALITPUR: (Credit: AP)

TRANSPORTING INJURED MAN TO LALITPUR: (Credit: AP)

SCHOOL USED AS EVACUATION CENTER (Credit: AP)

AFTERSHOCKS FORCE PEOPLE OUTSIDE FOR NIGHT (Credit: AP)

CONCERNED ABOUT AFTER-SHOCKS IN INDIA (Credit: AP)

RELIEF SUPPLIES BEING LOAD-ED IN NEW DEHLI (Credit: AP)

LESSON: THE KNOWLEDGE AND TIMING OF ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS IS VITAL

• The people who know: 1) what to expect (e.g., strong ground motion, damage, collapses, trapped survivors), 2) where and why they will happen, and 3) what they should (and should not) do to cope with them will survive.

LESSON: TIMELY, REALISTIC DISASTER SCENARIOS SAVE LIVES

• The people who have timely, realistic, advance information that facilitates reduction of vulnerabilities, and hence the risks associated with strong ground shaking and ground failure will survive.

LESSON: EMERGENCY RESPONSE SAVES LIVES

• The “Uncontrollable and Unthinkable” events will always hinder the timing of emergency response operations, especially the search and rescue operations that should be accomplished within “the golden 48 hours.”

LESSON: EMERGENCY MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS SAVES LIVES

• The local community’s capacity for emergency health care (i,e., coping with damaged hospitals and medical facilities, lack of clean drinking water, food, and medicine, and high levels of morbidity and mortality) is vital for survival.

LESSON: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERED BUILDINGS SAVE LIVES

• Buildings engineered to withstand the risks from an earthquake’s strong ground shaking and ground failure that cause damage, collapse, and loss of function, is vital for protecting occupants and users from death and injury.

LESSON: THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ALWAYS PROVIDES AID

• The International Community provides millions to billions of dollars in relief to help “pick up the pieces, ” but this strategy is not enough by itself to ensure earthquake disaster resilience.

FACTMOST OF THE 200 + NATIONS

NEED EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCE POLICIES THAT ARE BASED ON LESSONS LEARNED

FROM PAST EARTHQUAKE DISASTER LABORATORIES

YOUR YOUR

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITY

YOUR YOUR

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•MONITORING•HAZARD MAPS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

BOOKS OF KNOWLEDGE BOOKS OF KNOWLEDGE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•EM RESPONSE•RECOSTRUCTION AND RECOVERY

EARTHQUAKE DISASTER EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

PILLARS OF EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCE

Preparedness

Protection: Adoption and Implementation of a Modern Earthquake Engineering Building Code

and Lifeline Standards

Prevention: Land Use Planning and Base Isolation

PILLARS OF EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCE (continued)

Monitoring

Realistic Earthquake Disaster Scenarios

Timely Emergency Response (including search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services)

Cost-Effective Recovery and Reconstruction

THE CHALLENGE:

CHANGING EXISTING POLICIES:

CREATE, ADJUST, AND REALIGN PROGRAMS, PARTNERS AND PEOPLE UNTIL YOU HAVE CREATED THE KINDS OF TURNING POINTS NEEDED FOR MOVING TOWARDS EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCE

AN UNDER-UTILIZED GLOBAL STRATEGY

To Create Turning Points for Earthquake Disaster Resilience

USING EDUCATIONAL SURGES CONTAINING THE PAST AND PRESENT LESSONS TO FOSTER

AND ACCELERATE POLICY CHANGES

MOVING TOWARDS THE MUST-HAPPEN GLOBAL STRATEGY

To Achieve Earthquake Disaster Resilience

INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS WITH POLITICAL

SOLUTIONS IN EVERY NATION FOR REALISTIC POLICIES ON PREPAREDNESS,

PROTECTION, DISASTER SCENARIOS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE,

RECONSTRUCTION, AND RECOVERY