Chile & Nepal Earthquake Case Study

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)


  A measure of the total wealth of a country
• Human Development Index (HDI)


  A measure of the development of a country
• Chile's Gross Domestic Product: 298.2 billion USD. 38th in the world (out of 193 countries)
• Chile's Human Development Index: 41st in the world (out of 187 countries)
• Nepal's Gross Domestic Product: 29.04 billion USD. 109th in the world (out of 193 countries)
• Nepal's Human Development Index: 145th in the world (out of 187 countries)
• Both Chile and Nepal have suffered severe earthquakes
• A huge 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile


  27th February 2010

  
• 2010 Chile Earthquake


  • Occurred on a destructive plate margin where the Nazca plate subducts beneath the South American plate
  • Triggered a tsunami as the plate movement displaced a lot of seawater
• A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal


  25th April 2015

  
• 2015 Nepal Earthquake


  • Caused by the subduction of the Indo-Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate (destructive plate margin)
  • Epicentre was around 80km away from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu
  • Originated only 15km below the surface, which meant it was felt very strongly on the surface
  • Triggered huge avalanches and landslides in the Himalayas
• Primary effect -

  CHILE: Around 500 people were killed & 12,000 injured

  NEPAL: 9,000 killed & 20,000 injured
• Primary effect -

  CHILE: 800,000 people were affected overall

  NEPAL: 8 MILLION people were affected (1/3 of population)
• Primary effect -

  CHILE: 22,000 homes, 4,500 schools, 53 ports and 56 hospitals.

  The Santiago airport was also badly damaged.

  NEPAL: 7,000 schools were destroyed and 50% of all shops led to food & supply shortages
• Primary effect -

  CHILE: Many well-constructed buildings were left standing

  NEPAL: Many historical sites and landmarks were damaged/destroyed
• Primary effect - The estimated cost

  CHILE: USD$30 billion

  NEPAL: USD$5 billion
• Secondary effect -

  CHILE: Landslides triggered by earthquake damaged 1500km of roads, blocking them for weeks and cutting off rural communities

  NEPAL: Landslides and avalanches triggered by theearthquake caused widespread damage to infrastructure, blocked roads and trapped people under snow and rubble
• Secondary effect -

  CHILE: The earthquake triggered a tsunami which devastated coastal towns and destroyed ports. The tsunami also hit other Pacific countries.

  NEPAL: No tsunami occured as it was on land.
• Secondary effect - CHILE: Fires broke out in buildings due to burst pipes and other complications including a fire in a chemical plant near Santiago
• Primary effect - 1.4 million people were urgently in need of food, water and shelter after the 2015 Nepal earthquake
• Secondary effect - Avalanches on Mount Everest killed at least 19 people, and avalanches elsewhere left hundreds missing after the 2015 Nepal earthquake
• Secondary effect - Landslides blocked rivers after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, such as the Kali Gandaki River, and many people had to be evacuated in case of flooding
• Emergency services were deployed quickly in Chile after the 2010 earthquake, with search and rescue teams and emergency field hospitals set up
• International aid quickly arrived in Chile from the UK, India and China after the 2010 earthquake, bringing search and rescue teams, medical support and essential supplies. Over £87 million was raised in aid by donations
• Within 24 hours, temporary repairs were made to the Route 5 north-south highway in Chile, reconnecting the capital Santiago to other areas and allowing response teams to travel to more remote communities
• Helicopters were used in Chile for search, rescue and supply distribution after the 2010 earthquake, rescuing those stranded by avalanches and delivering supplies to communities cut off by landslides
• The Chilean government immediately distributed 5,000 temporary shelters, and a further 30,000 temporary emergency shelters were built after fundraising in Chile after the 2010 earthquake
• International aid groups also set up emergency response units for healthcare and emergency supply distribution in Chile after the 2010 earthquake
• Half a million tents were provided in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake, many from UNICEF, to provide shelter for the homeless and be used as temporary classrooms and healthcare facilities
• Field hospitals were set up in Nepal as hospitals were extremely overcrowded with casualties after the 2015 earthquake
• Power and water was restored to 90% of homes in Chile within 10 days after the 2010 earthquake
• 300,000 people fled from the capital Kathmandu in Nepal to seek shelter elsewhere after the 2015 earthquake
• USD$60 million was raised in relief funds in Nepal after a national appeal following the 2015 earthquake, which went towards reconstruction and emergency aid
• Social media was used as a means of communication for those affected in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake, with Facebook introducing a safety check feature
• Chile set up a national housing reconstruction plan one month after the 2010 earthquake, pledging $USD2.5 billion in housing subsidies for 196,000 households affected
• In 2019, three-quarters of homes that were destroyed from the 2010 Chile earthquake were either fully rebuilt or under repair. Over 7000 schools needed to be rebuilt or repaired
• The Chilean government introduced stricter building codes with better earthquake resistance after the 2010 earthquake
• Foreign aid was not heavily relied upon in Chile's recovery from the 2010 earthquake as the country had the funds available, and was prepared for the disaster due to the frequency of earthquakes
• Landslides were cleared and roads were repaired in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake. Temporary lakes formed by landslides that blocked rivers had to be carefully drained, such as in the Kali Gandaki river
• The president of Chile announced that full recovery from the 2010 earthquake could take 4 years, especially to fully reconstruct buildings and ports