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cleo
Social climber
wherever you go, there you are
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Apr 29, 2015 - 01:20pm PT
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kunlan_shan, I was just going to link to the AGU landslide blog, so thank you. Here's more from the same blog (see links in posts above as well):
FOR full blog post and images go to:
http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2015/04/29/landslides-in-the-nepal-earthquake-preliminary-guidelines-for-relief-and-response-activities/
Confusion continues to be a factor in determining the Nepal Earthquake impact – not unusual in any way, and not a criticism of anyone involved. The official death toll continues to increase – at the time of writing it is is 3351 (I strong recommend this twitter account for the latest information), and the total is rising quickly. But this remains much lower than we had anticipated for an event of this size in Nepal. This is partly because buildings in Kathmandu have performed far better than we had feared – at the moment the reasons for this are not clear, but it is very welcome.
But the key question is what is happening to the north of Kathmandu in the rural areas. This is the zone in which the peak ground accelerations are likely to have been highest, and it is also an area in which the houses are vulnerable (typically being constructed of weak materials) and most communities live on, or close to, slopes. These communities, which are remote at the best of times, may well have been very badly affected by the earthquake. An example appears to be the town of Barpak, high in the mountains in Gorkha District. This is the Google Earth image of the town before the earthquake:
(image)
Both of these images suggest that losses in Barpak should be high. The key questions are:
1. To what degree are these losses included in the official totals (my guess would be they are not, but I might be wrong)?
2. To what degree is the damage in Barpak replicated elsewhere?
Because if the answer to 1. is that the official death toll does not account for the losses in Barpak, and to 2. is that this is replicated elsewhere then the losses are going to be much higher than at present. We can only hope that this is not the case.
Either way the pictures above suggest that a massive mobilisation of aid is going to be needed.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 29, 2015 - 11:32pm PT
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For anyone interested:
Here is a very well written and as diplomatic as you can get discussion by an Oxford University professor about the political problems of Nepal.
http://theconversation.com/could-nepals-messy-politics-hamper-relief-efforts-40903
And here is where you can access daily situation reports put out by the UN representative to Nepal. He gives a lot of good stats as to how much aid has been dispersed so far.
http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/unorc/
And a fairly upbeat article from the Times of India.
April 29
"Four days after Nepal was convulsed by tremors that touched a massive 7.8-magnitude, Kathmandu finally showed signs of coming back to life. With subsiding aftershocks, power lines have largely been restored and phone and internet connections re-established.
Taxis and buses are coming back, though not in large numbers and banks are opening. About a third of shops have lifted shutters in bustling Thamel, the touristy trades of money change, travels, curios and Tibetan woolens are welcoming customers. The music is back, too, a sign that life goes on, though most cafes, restaurants and bars are keeping the volume low.
Nepal Electricity Authority said Kathmandu valley will be fully electrified by Wednesday evening. A technical team from the Indian Air Force and Power Grid Corporation of India has been helping fix transformers and get over technical glitches in the aftermath of the quake.
On their part, telecom operators Ncell and Nepal Telecom said networks had strengthened across the country and will get better with improvement in power supply. Both companies have announced unlimited calls, SMS and data facilities.
A stalled banking service had really hit people hard but that, too, looked to change with Nepal Rastra Bank directing banks to adopt alternative measures to provide services if they couldn't function the normal way. ATM counters had opened though quite a few were unable to dispense money. The Nepal Bankers' Association, meanwhile, has fixed Rs 50,000 as the withdrawal limit for individual customers, many of whom have been with very little or no cash in hand since last Saturday.
But the government had to push, cajole and threaten to get Kathmandu moving again. It had on Tuesday warned retailers of "tough action" if they didn't come back to their shops. And it had gone to the extent of announcing a 10-year jail term and fine of Rs 2 lakh for defaulting shopkeepers. Transporters and taxi operators had been shown the stick too, with action taken against 58 vehicles.
To get the administration back on its feet, the ministry of general administration issued a circular on Wednesday directing all civil servants to report to their respective offices from Thursday. The directive further said it will monitor attendance and punish those who do not follow the instruction.
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Apr 29, 2015 - 11:45pm PT
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That sounds pretty good:-)
i'll bet when LA has her big one it'll take longer then 4 days to get the power and banks back online:-(
Better start stashing some cash under my mattress!
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2015 - 06:19am PT
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And then there's this Facebook posting by a friend of mine.
Its a really bad situation here in Nepal. The government is f***g incapable and inefficient to help us. Our family members, relatives, school children and teachers are stranded in Rolwaling. They survived but they are staying without proper shelter and food. We have been trying to send rescue helipcopter and food supplies for five days but we receive no attention from the home ministry, civil aviation and the district administration. The Cheif District Officer and adminstration's phone are switched off. Even if its rings they don't respond and without their approval no helicopters or aid are allowed. Even private rescues are not allowed. So its really frustrating and helpless situation. We have sent a request through Kantipur Television today eveining.
Premlal Lamichane (CDO) 9854017777, 9754201749
Gajendra Thakur 9841743005
These two people are contact person of Government of Nepal in Dolalkha but they are not responding and switched off.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2015 - 08:34am PT
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And some good news. A teenage boy was pulled out of the rubble alive after being buried for six days - 144 hours.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a tr
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Apr 30, 2015 - 08:36am PT
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That is amazing. A ray of hope in the midst of hopelessness.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a tr
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Apr 30, 2015 - 09:12am PT
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Mike Auldridge will be going to Nepal soon to continue work with the Alex Lowe fund.
He is offering to gather and deliver critical supplies. Contact me if you want his contact info,
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Trashman
Trad climber
SLC
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Apr 30, 2015 - 11:38am PT
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Back to the top.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a tr
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Apr 30, 2015 - 11:46am PT
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When you get awoken in the wee hours by texts and emails and notifications from friends who you can not reach saying the ground is shaking again and we are running for our lives trying to save our children it is unbelievable heart wrenching.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2015 - 11:54am PT
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Here's the latest from the Nepalese government. The prime minister has just issued an order that all newly opened individual and NGO accounts receiving money marked "Earthquake Aid" will have that money diverted to the Prime Minister's Relief Account.
The government claims this is to prevent fraud but everyone knows this is to get their rake off from the funds which must be considerable for them to do this. Hopefully international pressure is going to make them rescind this. If not, I have to send my money to a bank in a nearby country and then someone from the village has to fly there to get it. What a waste, but not the first time I have seen the central government make it extraordinarily difficult for well meaning foreigners to help their poorest people.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 30, 2015 - 12:02pm PT
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That's why our money is going to Doctors Without Borders. They are one
step ahead of the thieving bureaucrats in the countries they normally
work in.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2015 - 12:25pm PT
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Unfortunately they are not yet in the remote villages. I am getting other stories about people arriving at the airport or Nepalese -Indian border with relief supplies and being turned back by Nepalese officials. I interpret this being because they refused to pay a bribe or a big enough one. Part of every large organization's overhead is bribe money unfortunately. Of course they will never admit they pay bribes in order to help the people their money was meant for.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a tr
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Apr 30, 2015 - 12:27pm PT
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NOOOOO please say it aint so.
Who can we contact to put pressure on the PM?
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 30, 2015 - 12:28pm PT
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I'd leave that to the big guns like the embassies and Red Cross etc.
Meanwhile the rest of us have to find work arounds.
The Nepalese didn't become resilient by accident!
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Apr 30, 2015 - 12:36pm PT
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So while we are here doing our best to vet the charities we wish to use to help Nepal with.. the biggest scammers may be their own government?
Hmmm... I hope this shines a big light on the problem... Liberty is a tough thing to achieve. Usually it costs lives. This may be the beginning of change for Nepal. I hope this tragedy can lead to some long term real improvement for the future.
Complicated stuff. Lets keep doing our best though.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that the light at the end of the tunnel or a tr
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Apr 30, 2015 - 12:50pm PT
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Jan please keep us informed on this mess.
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