Natural Disasters that affect Nepal the most.

Nepal lies in one of those parts of the world that has a very complicated geographical structures. ⅓ of the whole country is mountains, ⅓ of the country is hills and valleys and the last ⅓ of Nepal is the plains. With different geographical structure comes different types of natural hazards. Nepal lies right in the intersection of the Indian and Eurasian plate as you can see in the picture below retrieved from ARCGIS education maps. There are many fault lines going throughout the country horizontally. Nepal is prone to very high magnitude earthquakes from time to time. 

According to Himalayan times, More than 42,000 people have been killed in natural disasters in the past 45 years which is a lot of people considering how small the country is and how many people live there. Most of those deaths were caused by Earthquake. Earthquake is most probably the main natural hazard that terrifies the whole country. Many more lives could have been saved if only people were educated about the safety majors and implemented them during the time of the earthquake. An article I read about Nepal talks about how poverty, corruption, and poor governance have all led to a failure to enforce building codes - and caused a shortage of skilled engineers, planners and architects. All of those things are factored into the lives lost by Nepalese people in Earthquakes.

USAID rescue workers inspect the site of collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Avalanche is something else that could follow earthquake and could be very dangerous for the people who love to do activities in nature like mountain climbing, hiking, trekking etc. Merriam Webster defines avalanche as a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice. Nepal is also a tourist destination for mountain climbing as the Himalayas lies in the Mountainous region of the country.The World's tallest Mountain, Mt.Everest is located in the Himalayas of Nepal. The ultimate reason for the forming of Mt. Everest was the Indian Plate moving northwards towards the Eurasian plate. What's really surprising is that the Mt.Everest is still growing taller every year as the Indian tectonic plate is still moving towards the Eurasian plate at the speed of 67 mm per year. According to my research, Avalanche could be the second most dangerous natural hazards in Nepal as it is also very unpredictable and could cause life threatening situations. 

Everest Base camp after an Avalanche where 17 people died.

According to NY times, the snow avalanche in Mt. Everest which was caused by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed at least 17 climbers and injured more than 37. Nepal's’ climate could get very extreme at times but it is seasonal. The monsoon season in Nepal can be very extreme. Extreme rainfall increases the chances of mudslides and flooding. A research based on landslides tells us about the fatalities caused due to landslides in Nepal which was about 2197 from 1978-2005. Not all these hazards can be avoided but if the available resources are used properly, the damage caused by these hazards can definitely be minimized. First of all everyone needs to be educated with safety tips on how to react in the time of the natural disaster and after it. Nepals government needs to implement some strict rules about building houses that could be at a potential risk from earthquakes and avalanches. Since Nepal is a landlocked country, Nepalese people do not really need to worry about Tsunamis. Out of all the preparation plans that I researched on in the internet, I found this research from national geographic very helpful. Avalanches can be very scary as well. And there is nothing much you can do if you get under an avalanche but it is always best to prepare well while going mountain climbing. Specially have an oxygen tank handy and kept in stock for emergency purposes.

View of the Bhaisipati landscape from the Sky

Honestly speaking I don't think I would ever like to build a house in Nepal for myself but if I do, It would be a little distant from the main city Kathmandu where all the houses are cramped up together. I really like the area that I researched on which is called Bhaisipati. It's really close to Kathmandu valley but the houses there are mostly 2-3 floors. One of the main reason for choosing this location is that there are no tall buildings which might collapse in times of earthquake and most of the houses in that area is pretty new and hopefully are built with better infrastructures. Moreover the Landscape view from Bhaisipati is beautiful where you can see Hills in far distance but not close enough to be affected from landslides.