9th Feb, 2010 – As Haiti counts the cost of last month's devastating earthquake, experts are warning of the potential for an even greater disaster in another of the world's poorest countries, Nepal.
Geologists say it is only a matter of time before a major earthquake hits Nepal's densely populated capital Kathmandu, where 2.5 million people live in cramped, poorly-built housing with little or no awareness of the dangers.
Nepal sits on the border between two huge plates that have moved together over millions of years to form the Himalayas.
Geologists believe it is at risk from an earthquake with a magnitude of around eight -- 10 times as powerful as the Haiti shock that killed more than 212,000 people.
Nepal has not suffered a major quake for decades, and expert David Petley believes the troubled country is woefully unprepared.
"From a geological perspective the risk seems to be very large indeed," said Petley, Wilson professor of hazard and risk at Britain's Durham University.
"The area to the west of Kathmandu is undergoing the processes that drive earthquakes, and there has not been a quake on that section of the fault for hundreds of years.
"The larger the time gap (between quakes) the larger the quake is going to be."
Many other major cities in the region are vulnerable to large earthquakes.
But a 2001 study by GeoHazards International, a US research group set up to reduce the human impact of natural disasters, found Kathmandu would suffer the worst losses.
Very low building standards, weak infrastructure and the fact that Kathmandu is built on the soft sediment of a former lake bed all contribute to the high risk level.
Like Port au Prince, Kathmandu is served by just one single-runway airport, but unlike the Haitian capital it has no port, and experts believe the only three roads into the city would likely be destroyed in a major quake.
A decade-long civil war and years of political instability have also taken their toll on Nepal, whose capital Kathmandu has just eight working fire engines.
Experts warn that few of the hospitals and government buildings could withstand a major quake.
"What has been made clear in Haiti is that when a quake affects the capital and government infrastructure is destroyed, organising help becomes very difficult indeed," said Petley.
Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1876039
Guys, it really makes us scare, but its the biggest reality, which will come true one day. Definetely the nature is out of our control but the thing we can do is reduce the disaster by early precaution. The one thing we can definetely do is to build earthquake resistant home. To make yourself more aware..aware of silent danger...
Geologists say it is only a matter of time before a major earthquake hits Nepal's densely populated capital Kathmandu, where 2.5 million people live in cramped, poorly-built housing with little or no awareness of the dangers.
Nepal sits on the border between two huge plates that have moved together over millions of years to form the Himalayas.
Geologists believe it is at risk from an earthquake with a magnitude of around eight -- 10 times as powerful as the Haiti shock that killed more than 212,000 people.
Nepal has not suffered a major quake for decades, and expert David Petley believes the troubled country is woefully unprepared.
"From a geological perspective the risk seems to be very large indeed," said Petley, Wilson professor of hazard and risk at Britain's Durham University.
"The area to the west of Kathmandu is undergoing the processes that drive earthquakes, and there has not been a quake on that section of the fault for hundreds of years.
"The larger the time gap (between quakes) the larger the quake is going to be."
Many other major cities in the region are vulnerable to large earthquakes.
But a 2001 study by GeoHazards International, a US research group set up to reduce the human impact of natural disasters, found Kathmandu would suffer the worst losses.
Very low building standards, weak infrastructure and the fact that Kathmandu is built on the soft sediment of a former lake bed all contribute to the high risk level.
Like Port au Prince, Kathmandu is served by just one single-runway airport, but unlike the Haitian capital it has no port, and experts believe the only three roads into the city would likely be destroyed in a major quake.
A decade-long civil war and years of political instability have also taken their toll on Nepal, whose capital Kathmandu has just eight working fire engines.
Experts warn that few of the hospitals and government buildings could withstand a major quake.
"What has been made clear in Haiti is that when a quake affects the capital and government infrastructure is destroyed, organising help becomes very difficult indeed," said Petley.
Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1876039
Guys, it really makes us scare, but its the biggest reality, which will come true one day. Definetely the nature is out of our control but the thing we can do is reduce the disaster by early precaution. The one thing we can definetely do is to build earthquake resistant home. To make yourself more aware..aware of silent danger...
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