“The main problem in Nepal and other developing countries is that we have no preparedness plan in case of a disaster. We have no emergency relief material here. We have no proper law and system that addresses the disaster. When the earthquake hit Gorkha, we started collecting tarpaulin, but there was no tarpaulin in the market. We just collected 200 pieces from the entire Gorkha bazaar and there were no more. How can shelters be made without tarpaulins? There was very little rice and biscuits to distribute to the victims. In Chile, there was an earthquake measuring 8.3 magnitude where 14 people were killed. Here we had a 7.8 and 10,000 were killed. Earthquake itself did not kill the people but it was the structure. A government support system, disaster management committee, and preparedness plan are all necessary for surviving a disaster.”

Photo: Namita Rao