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Nepal is confronted by an increasing number of natural- and human-induced disasters, making it the most disaster-prone country in the world. Landslides, floods, droughts, fires, thunderbolts, blockades, and earthquakes, among others, occur frequently. All these disasters take a high toll on people and cause heavy damage to physical properties worth billions of dollars every year. One of the recent examples in the history of disasters was the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in 2015 taking away human lives, destroying physical infrastructures, altering cultures, challenging institutions, and devastating the hope and ambitions of people. Thirty-three of the Nepal’s 75 districts were affected, at different degrees, and 14 out of 33 were badly damaged by the two major earthquakes on the 26th of April and the 12th of May 2015. This chapter provides a reflective dialogue on the current state of the disaster-recovery process with a focus on the delivery of recovery services aiming to (1) understand how key actors are responding to disaster-recovery works in Nepal and (2) identify knowledge gaps in the disaster response policy and research arenas in managing future disasters in Nepal.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse if the classification system introduced by International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), or INSARAG External Classification (IEC), contributes to effective international search and rescue (SAR) activities in the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

In addition to the data collected by Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, the data were collected by one of the authors who was deployed to Nepal as part of the UNDAC just after the earthquake. Interviews with the deployed international SAR teams and the INSARAG Secretariat were also conducted.

Although more than 50 teams have been classified in IEC, some IEC-classified teams could not utilise their full capabilities in the Nepal response. For example, they did not necessarily arrive in Nepal earlier than the non-classified teams, but it was because the affected country did not prioritise the IEC-classified teams. To save more lives by international teams, INSARAG will need to raise the awareness of IEC in receiving countries, consider the good regional balance of IEC-classified teams and facilitate strengthening local SAR capabilities through the IEC process.

The added value of this study is, by combining the evidence-based field reality and academic analysis, to find out the existing problems in the field and to provide tangible recommendations for further improvement of the IEC system, which will then lead to saving more lives.

This paper asks what was the state of building-code enforcement and citizen – government collaboration in disaster preparedness when an earthquake hit Kathmandu metropolitan city (KMC) in 2015? It reviewed government documents, analyzed media reports, interviewed building-code monitoring officers and carried out a detailed case study of the earthquake-damaged Park View Horizon Housing Apartment (PVHA) Complex. The research found several earthquake-resilience issues. They were enforcement-vulnerability (Building bylaws, planning permit and building code); institutional-coordination vulnerability; Apartment-regulation vulnerability; technological vulnerability; and citizen-government-collaboration vulnerability.

The study area of this research is KMC, and this research is based on content analysis, field observation and interview. It has reviewed all the newspapers and media reports that had covered earthquake issues during and after the 2015 disaster, as well as the articles published in Nepal, South Asia, the USA, New Zealand and Haiti. The literature on Nepal’s building code, seismic history and institutional arrangements for governing earthquake-related issues were reviewed. After field observation of some of the damaged apartments, a detailed case study of PVHA Complex was carried out.

The research found several earthquake-resilience issues. They were enforcement-vulnerability (Building bylaws, planning permit and building code); institutional-coordination vulnerability; Apartment-regulation vulnerability; technological vulnerability; and citizen-government-collaboration vulnerability

A limitation of this study was its heavy reliance on content analysis, one case study and a few interviews and discussions with affected residents, local governments and developers.

This study would help enhance disaster governance in developing nations.

The citizen–government collaborative approach to earthquake resilience would enhance human resilience to disaster at individual and community levels.

Since this is the first research carried out on the state of building code and institutional resilience at the time of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, it is original and provides policy insights for earthquake resilience in Nepal.

Nepal’s rich cultural and natural heritage – the basis of a flourishing tourism industry that contributes 8% to the country’s GDP – suffered heavily during the Gorkha earthquake that shook the country in April 2015. Recovery was challenged by a political-economic crisis that hampered mobility and delayed access to resources. Given the economic importance of tourism to Nepal, a revival of this industry was considered vital by public authorities and private sector representatives. This chapter discusses the response mechanisms of the tourism industry in Kathmandu to two sequential, overlapping stressors that brought challenges to the business sector beyond the usual. Interviews with hotel managers and owners, tour operators and trekking company owners have revealed that coping strategies varied from business-as-usual to completely new paths. To what extent do multiple disruptive events challenge a tourism industry to diverge from established paths of economic development? How did Nepal revive its tourism industry? In-depth interviews with tourism industry stakeholders brought forth evidence of unusual collaborative action towards a quick restoration of tourist arrivals and a positive image of the destination. Furthermore, a handful of companies have shifted their entire business strategy.

This paper aims to critically examine the post-disaster emergency response amongst marginalised and disadvantaged social groups following the 2015 Nepal Earthquake (7.8 Mw).

A qualitative research method was employed by conducting interviews with disaster survivors from marginalised and ethnic social groups, humanitarian aid workers and government officials in the four districts worst hit by the 2015 Nepal Earthquake.

This research found that community members demonstrated remarkable cooperation in the aftermath of the disaster; however, caste-based discrimination still manifested in post-earthquake emergency environments. Further, this research showed that the engagement of government and local and international humanitarian organisations was noteworthy in the earthquake emergency response in Nepal as it localised relief packages and adapted the assistance corresponding to the fast-changing post-disaster environments. However, some relief materials were culturally inappropriate and climatically unsuitable. This paper also shows that the poor dissemination of relief distribution plans, resource duplication and ineffective targeting disproportionately impacted the oppressed and marginalised households in receiving humanitarian assistance.

Studies have been undertaken on the emergency response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, however, few have focussed on the lived experience of marginalised and disadvantaged social groups. Further, this research builds on, and contributes to, the humanitarian mobile sovereignty discourse.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate increase in the cost of reinforced concrete buildings in Kathmandu valley constructed using earthquake safer features in comparison with that of buildings constructed using conventional approach without earthquake safety features.

Five buildings constructed using earthquake safer features and five buildings constructed without using these features are selected. A cost comparison of both types of buildings is done, and the total cost is also compared for structural, nonstructural and service components in the buildings.

The cost analysis of buildings constructed in Kathmandu valley shows that there is 10 per cent increase in cost for earthquake safer construction in comparison to construction using conventional approach. This increase in cost can be a deterrent factor for house owners to switch to safer construction practices which ultimately leads to lack of compliance from house owners. A successful implementation of building code in a country like Nepal, where most of the buildings are constructed from informal sector, requires compliance of the code from all stakeholders. Awareness raising can be a deciding factor for success in building code enforcement.

The study is done for only two types of constructions prevalent in Kathmandu: one using simplified codal method and another using conventional method. Only five samples of each types are taken into consideration. The building sample, however, is typical and representative of the two types of the construction practice.

The information from this study will be useful for making policy decisions for enforcement of building codes and also for assessment of economic loss in future earthquakes.

This research output will help to redesign building code enforcement projects in Nepal and other countries in the region with similar issues.

The building samples, analysis and output are original contribution of authors, and it contributes to fulfill the gap for such study.

Understanding bottom-up approaches including local coping mechanisms, recognizing them and strengthening community capacities is important in the process of disaster risk reduction. The purpose of this paper is to address the questions: to what extent existing disaster policies in Nepal support and enable community-based disaster resilience? and what challenges and prospects do the communities have in responding to disaster risk for making communities resilient?

This paper is based on policy and academic literature reviews complimented by field research in two communities, one in Shankhu, Kathmandu district and another in Satthighare, Kavrepalanchowk district in Nepal. The author conducted in-depth interviews and mapped out key disaster-related policies of Nepal to investigate the role of communities in disaster risk management and post-disaster activities and their recognition in disaster-related policies.

The author found that existing literature clearly identifies the importance of the community led initiatives in risks reduction and management. It is evolutionary phenomenon, which has already been piloted in history including in the aftermath of Nepal earthquake 2015 yet existing policies of Nepal do not clearly identify it as an important component by providing details of how communities can be better engaged in the immediate aftermath of disaster occurrence.

The author conducted this research based on data from two earthquake affected areas only. The author believes that this research can still play an important role as representative study.

The practical implication of this research is that communities need to understand about risks society for disaster preparedness, mitigation and timely response in the aftermath of disasters. As they are the first responders against the disasters, they also need trainings such as disaster drills such as earthquakes, floods and fire and mock practice of various early warning systems can be conducted by local governments to prepare these communities better to reduce disaster risk and casualties.

The mantra of community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) is community engagement, which means the involvement of local people to understand and prepare against their local hazards and risks associated with disaster and haphazard development. CBDRM approaches motivate people to work together because they feel a sense of belongingness to their communities and recognize the benefits of their involvement in disaster mitigation and preparedness. Clearly, community engagement for disaster risk reduction and management brings great benefits in terms of ownership and direct savings in losses from disasters because the dynamic process allows community to contribute and interchange ideas and activities for inclusive decision making and problem solving.

This research is based on both primary and secondary data and original in case of its findings and conclusion.

This paper aims to explore how different risk perceptions of experts, institutions and laymen have to be taken into consideration if non-governmental organizations and donors want to include the community in disaster risk reduction. Otherwise, community-based disaster risk management will not be community-based.

This research is based on an intensive literature review, as well as a four-month felt study in Kathmandu (November 2011-February 2012). This study explores, from a social constructive point of view, the relationship among international, national and local actors in the effort to conduct disaster risk reduction in Nepal through a community-based approach.

The Kathmandu Valley is at risk of being hit by an earthquake at anytime. If an earthquake hits, it will cause total devastation. Although the Nepalese are aware of the risks of a potential earthquake, very few have begun preparations. The author finds that the lack of preparation is partly caused by different risk perceptions among experts, institutions and laymen.

Involving the community in disaster risk reduction today is widely accepted as the right way to work with disaster risk reduction. But, rarely the question is made: are we really involving the community by taking their risk perception serious, and not just accepting the risk perceptions from experts and institutions of science as being the right way to perceive disaster risk. The author finds that there is a tendency to ignore the community in community-based earthquake preparedness in Nepal.

Nepal is exposed to multi-hazard risk and is highly prone to disasters such as earthquake, flood, landslide, and drought. The climate, topography, nature-based livelihood, and weak economy and institutional capability to deal with such disasters put the country at frontline of the highly vulnerable countries in the world. Majority of the population of Nepal live in rural areas which are characterized by poorly developed infrastructures. Several disasters in such areas induce temporarily or permanently displacements of the people. Vulnerable communities, households, and individuals lack the capacity to withstand shocks, while more resilient communities are able to reduce the associated risks. Migration during disasters is itself an adaptive response which is both the opportunity and challenge for developing a resilient community. This chapter presents the trends and patterns of disaster-induced displacements in Nepal and explores how disaster-induced displacements could be an opportunity to build back better to enhance the resilience of the vulnerable communities. This chapter also highlights the existing institutions and disaster management framework of the national policies and strategies at the federal, provincial, and local levels in the light of disaster-induced displacement, and recommend actions that need to be taken to manage the risk of disaster-induced displacements and enhance resilient livelihoods in Nepal.