11:56 25 April 2015

On 15 January 2015 on National Earthquake Safety Day, an Editorial in Nepali Times titled ‘Preparing To Be Prepared’ warned: ‘When (not if) the next earthquake strikes Nepal, don’t ask what the government can do for you, ask what your community can do for itself.’

Just over three months later, Kathmandu was struck at 11:56AM on 25 April by a 7.8M earthquake epicentred in Gorkha. Nearly 9,000 people were killed, tens of thousands wounded, and entire neighbourhoods were destroyed. 

There were tragic scenes in the immediate aftermath, followed by days of uncertainty, rumours and disinformation. But it was the same community spirit cited in the Editorial that helped Nepalis pull together to get through the calamity.

Relief groups sprang up spontaneously through the Internet to rush relief and help survivors to rebuild. Government agencies that were initially slow to respond ultimately stepped in. 

The Nepal Army, APF, and Police pulled out most people from the ruins, even though international search and rescue teams got most high profile media coverage.

It was clear from the outset that despite the loss of life and the destruction, things could have been much worse. Had it not been a Saturday, schools would be open and filled with children. Nearly 35,000 class rooms in 7,000 schools in 14 districts were destroyed. 

Read also: Lessons not learned from 2015, Sonia Awale 

Even if there were only 10 children per class, a mind boggling number of students and teachers would have been killed.

Although there was network congestion, mobile phones worked, most national highways were serviceable, and Kathmandu airport was back in operation by 1PM. Electricity was restored in most places by nightfall. None of the glacial lakes in Nepal and China, including those close to the epicentre, burst. No major landslides blocked any rivers.

The unique characteristic of the rupture meant the earthquake was felt mostly eastwards from the epicentre, concentrated in and around Kathmandu Valley. The frequency of the earthquake waves and its duration damaged or destroyed older brick and clay buildings, but most cement-built structures survived. 

All these factors ensured a relatively low loss of life, although 10 years later, 2015 is also a stark reminder that we may not be so lucky in the future. It is not panic-mongering to remind ourselves that there will be next times. Nepal sits on one of the most seismically active parts of the Himalaya. 

The 7.7 magnitude quake in Burma last week serves as a reminder that earthquakes are a regular phenomenon along the Himalayan arc, and there is a seismic gap in western Nepal where a mega quake is long overdue.  

It is also important to keep the 8,900 earthquake fatalities in 2015 in perspective. Nearly 40,000 children in Nepal die every year before their first birthday due to preventable diseases -- that is 109 every day. 

But that does not get as much international media attention.