In the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake serious questions about how the catastrophe has been handled are coming to light.
The death toll has climbed to over 7,600 since the earthquake on April 25. Almost a million other people have left the Kathmandu valley in fear of further aftershocks and the spread of disease. Critics are accusing the Nepalese government of being unprepared to deal with a crisis that was years in the making.
The possibility of an earthquake of this magnitude was not unknown to experts, according to UBC Earth and Ocean Sciences professor Michael Bostock.
“In a sort of tragic irony, there was a meeting of engineering seismologists in the weeks leading up to the big earthquake where international experts had come in and expressed concern to [Nepali] government officials concerning the readiness of the population and infrastructure,” said Bostock.
Nepal itself lies in a high-risk area that is prone to seismic activity.
“They’re on the main plate boundary between India, which is moving northward at 4cm a year, and the Eurasian continent … so this is not an unusual situation,” said Bostock.
Despite the warnings Bostock mentioned, Nepal is now dealing with the consequences of its most serious natural disaster since 1934.
Foreign aid in the form of funds and relief workers has poured in, but meeting the challenges that await will be a difficult task. Not only are thousands of injured people waiting for treatment, many more are without shelter, and the spread of disease poses a serious risk.
UBC economics professor and former resident of Nepal Ratna Shrestha, gives the government in Nepal an ‘F’ for how they have handled the relief effort.
In Shrestha’s view, the country’s political instability accounts for the lack of coordination.
“In the last 25 years there have hardly been any majority governments…. They change governments every one to two years, so given that situation of course the capability to respond to the disaster isn’t there,” said Shrestha.
According to Shrestha, the disaster may also exacerbate the issue of human trafficking that is already a serious problem in Nepal. Criminal networks may have easier access to potential victims by taking advantage of the chaos.
“Some of the traffickers might become more active,” said Shrestha. “This could be a very good opportunity for them to traffic girls as young as 12 or 13 years old.”
For now, providing for citizens’ basic needs and preventing more deaths will take up all the available resources. As for the long term, in order to avoid another disaster of this magnitude, the Nepali government will have to prioritize investments in infrastructure.
Share this article
