Case Study : Earthquakes, Nepal vs New Zealand

• In 2016, New Zealand experienced an earthquake with a 7.8 magnitude and a destructive plate boundary. The death toll was 2, however 50 people were injured. This is our high income country example.
• In 2015, Nepal experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, this is our low income country example. It killed 9000 people and injured 22,000. 4 million people were left homeless.
• In New Zealand, 100,000 landslides occurred, causing major road and rail routes to be blocked, one of these landslides caused the Clarence river to flood and 10 farms to be evacuated. A tsunami was also triggered which flooded the land, leaving debris up to 750 m inland.
• In Nepal, there were landslides triggered on Mount Everest, killing 18 people. Many roads were blocked, preventing emergency aid from reaching remote areas. There was also an outbreak of Typhus that killed 13 people, due to a lack of clean water.
• As a response to the Earthquake, New Zealand issued a tsunami warning and evacuated its residents to higher ground. Hundreds of people were housed in emergency shelters and community centres. Power was restored to most within a few hours and temporary water supplies were set up and most roads and railways were reopened within 2 years. Over 5 million pounds of funding were provided by the government for reparations.
• As a response to the earthquake, Nepal sent in rescue teams to help people trapped in the rubble, however, they did not have the right tools to help. The major road from Nepal to Tibet opened 2 years after the earthquake, charities such as Oxfam provided food and clean water. Many families still did not have access to clean water 2 years after the earthquake and the World Bank gave 500 million dollars to rebuild homes, however some of these projects are still happening today.