2015 Earthquake in Nepal: Mapping the Political Aftermath

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Abstract

In 1934, Nepal experienced one of its worst earthquakes in its modern history leaving behind large-scale damages in urban and rural areas and killing more than 4500 people in the Kathmandu valley. Since this event, the Nepalese people are aware of the tremendous risks of natural catastrophes. Today, Nepal is ranked as one of the most disaster-prone countries worldwide. Nevertheless, 81 years later it seems that the Himalayan nation was once again caught by absolute surprise. On Saturday, 25 April 2015, being obviously insufficiently prepared, the country suffered from an earthquake of enormous magnitude, leaving behind in destroyed infrastructures in several parts of the country, homes and historic buildings and many thousands of dead people. To make things worse, a series of heavy aftershocks have continued to shake Nepal, causing even more damage and havoc to the remote and increasingly isolated mountainous country. This is raises some serious questions.