Disaster Resilient Communities in Nepal by 2050

17th ESD Earthquake Vulnerability Walk


To intimately perceive the earthquake risks posed by the surrounding constructions and infrastructures in the heart of Kathmandu city, around 50 enthusiastic participants from various social circles took part in the Earthquake Vulnerability Walk which lasted for around a couple of hours. Altogether three groups of participants took three different guided routes into the core city area, starting from Bhugol Park, New Road and converging at the common meeting point i.e. Itum Bahal. The organization of the Earthquake Vulnerability Walk was initiated by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City in coordination with Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) and National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET).

The walk predominantly gave people a chance to encounter the earthquake vulnerabilities, in close proximity, which otherwise would have been ignored in their day to day hustle and bustle. Participants seemed concerned about the earthquake vulnerabilities and threats presented by towering as well as congested concrete structures in the densely populated core city area. Narrow streets, bulging old structures, uncontrolled wirings and lack of open spaces painted a frightening and miserable pictures to the walkers if and when an earthquake indeed struck. As people were progressing in the walk, the discussion seemed to focus on the urgent need of earthquake awareness, preparedness and risk mitigation activities from the locals and the government as well.

Towards the end of the program at Itum Bahal, Mr. Bhagwan Shakya (Nepali Congress party representative) from Kathmandu Metropolitan City, pointed out the need of political stability in the country to accelerate the risk reduction efforts. In spite of being an emergency responder himself, Mr. Shiba Ram Gautam, Program Officer, NRCS, shared his fear of catastrophic loss while considering the earthquake risks in the locale where he was standing. One of the participant volunteers, Ms. Sangeeta Maharjan, emphasized the importance of building safe and following government regulations when we already have/know them. The Earthquake Vulnerability Walk ended with 6 lucky draw winners, namely Kishore Bhattarai, Shiba Ram Gautam, Kumud Nakarmi, Sanjay Raj Upadhyay, Rabindra Paudel and Milan Thapa.

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