Study on the Status of Building Code Implementation in 2015 Earthquake Affected District

This study presents the findings of the municipality level survey to understand the status of the Building Code Implementation across the districts affected by the 25 April 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Government of Nepal with financial assistance from the United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (UN-HABITAT) started working on Nepal national building code in 1993 which led to development of Building Code in 1994.

The Building Code Development Project involved seismic hazard mapping, risk assessment, legal framework, inclusion of alternative building materials and technologies, public awareness, and its dissemination. The Ministry of Physical Planning and Work, an authorized body for the implementation of the code published a notice in the Gazette in 2006, which made mandatory implementation of NBC in all municipalities and administrative headquarter of 28 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in Nepal. But to the irony, the 2015 Gorkha earthquake destroyed large number of private houses. The damage exposed the weaknesses of houses that did not have any seismic-resistant features or were not in accordance with the building codes. Thus, the need for the study on the status of building code implementation was required. The study was conducted with the objective of understanding the status of the building code implementation in the rural/urban municipalities and to assess awareness level regarding the National Building Code at the municipal level.

For the quantitative survey, 34 municipalities from 24 districts listed among the most affected to least affected were selected. The sample size included 18 rural municipalities and 16 urban municipalities.