Earthquake Safety Day: DPM Shrestha for collaboration on disaster reduction and local resilience

Kathmandu: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha has called for collaborative efforts on disaster reduction and local resilience. For this to happen, all three tiers of government could work together, he stressed.

During a program, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) organized at Bhugol Park of Kathmandu on the occasion of the Earthquake Safety Day this morning, the collaboration of KMC with federal and province governments would emerge as a model, which, he argued, could be replicated to other local levels. He reminded us that the constitution has mentioned disaster management as the right of local governments as well, so all sides' responsibilities are required to tackle the problems.

'Federal government is ready to work together with local levels for their capacity building,' DPM Shrestha said, adding that the local levels were provided equipment for emergency and rescue operations via the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

According to the DPM, even the volunteers have a significant role in making effective disaster management. So, the volunteers could be brought under a national system. DPM Shrestha expressed happiness over the KMC's mobilization of volunteers and initiatives taken for necessary training. He lauded the assistance KMC provided in the quake-hit area following the Jajarkot Earthquake.

He wished KMC as the leading local level with the resources and capacity continued such works. The initiatives taken by the KMC could be replicated by others, he suggested. Moreover, DPM Shrestha commented, 'KMC's role in enforcement of building code for the earthquake safety and assessment and retrofitting of the unsafe structures is a significant job.'

On the occasion, Deputy Mayor of KMC, Sunita Dangol, said Nepal must pay heed to building quake-resistant structures given the earthquake security. The locally available resources and technology could be used to make infrastructures robust, she viewed, underscoring the need for further collaboration and coordination among three tiers of government.

Earthquake Safety Day has been observed every year on Magh 2 of the Nepali calendar since 2055BS. The Day commemorates the devastating earthquake that occurred on Magh 2, 1990BS. A huge number of lives and properties perished in the quake that measured 8.4 on the Richter scale. It had occurred at 2:24 pm. Senior seismologist at the National Seismology and Research Centre, Lok Bijay Adhikari, informed that as many as 8,519 Nepalis had died, while 80,000 houses were destroyed in the 1990BS earthquake.

A total of 207,248 structures perished in the earthquake. The recent devastating quake Nepal witnessed was the Gurkha Earthquake of Baisakh 12, 2072Bs. It claimed the lives of 8,670 people and destroyed more than 700 thousand houses.

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