Understanding short-term household recoveries from the 2015 Nepal earthquakes: Lessons learned and recommendations

In this paper, the authors assess tangible and intangible disaster recovery dynamics following the 2015 Nepal earthquakes and aftershocks in order to understand household adaptive capacity and transformation. They randomly selected 400 households in four communities across two highly impacted districts for surveys and interviews at 9 months and 1.5 years afterwards and returned at 2.5 years to share and discuss results.

The researchers found that household recoveries were heterogenous, context specific, and changing. Tangible hazard exposure, livelihood disruption, and displacement and intangible place attachment and mental well-being influenced recoveries. They also illustrate challenges related to government programs, housing designs and codes, and outside aid. The authors developed some Nepal-specific recommendations. Find some of them below:

1. Consider integrating into the national reconstruction program landslide mitigation, trail repair and construction, and transport expenses for building materials, which affect the size and design of rural earthquake-safe houses.
2. Ensure that assessment of earthquake damages include inaccessible settlements and not solely accessible settlements near or on the road.
3. Ensure that traditionally lower-caste ethnic groups and religions with low literacy receive representation and have a voice in community reconstruction planning.
4. Build capacity of local government representatives to understand the national reconstruction program.
5. Ensure that resettled households and settlements stay together in the new locations and in proximity to old settlements, if possible, so that they can practice their place-based culture and traditions.