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This document is an editorial for a special issue of the journal Remote Sensing, which focuses on using satellite data and new methodologies to understand the preparatory phase of medium-large earthquakes. The issue includes 15 papers from authors in various countries, covering topics such as seismo-electromagnetic processes, lithospheric structure, atmospheric anomalies, ionospheric disturbances, and interactions between the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere. The editorial emphasizes the need for further research to explain the different patterns observed in earthquakes and the potential role of tectonic settings and water in these phenomena. Additionally, there is an acknowledgment section from a research paper published in the journal, expressing gratitude to the academic editors who helped evaluate the papers in the special issue. [Extracted from the article]

In Geophysics, topographic factors are observations that can be directly measured, but they are often ignored to simplify the model. Studying the coseismic deformation caused by earthquakes helps accurately determine the epicenter's parameterization. It provides a reference for the reasonable layout of coseismic observation stations and GNSS observation stations. After the Mw7.8 earthquake in Nepal in 2015, GCMT, USGS, GFZ, CPPT, and other institutions released their epicenter parameter. However, according to their parameters, the coseismic displacements simulated by the spectral-element method are quite different from the GNSS observations. Firstly, this paper inverts the geometric parameters of the seismogenic fault with Nepal's coseismic GNSS displacement. The spectral-element method determines the source's location and depth under the heterogeneous terrain and outputs the source parameters. Among the results of many studies, the surface source is more consistent with the generation mechanism of large earthquakes. Secondly, this paper calculates the fault slip distribution of this earthquake using SDM (Steepest Descent Method) based on GNSS and InSAR data, which is divided into 1500 subfaults, and the moment tensor of each subfault is calculated. This paper investigates the distribution characteristics of the coseismic deformation field of the 2015 Mw 7.8 earthquake in Nepal under three different models. The results show that the influence of topographic factors is ~ 20%, and the influence of heterogeneous factors is ~ 10%. This paper concludes that the influence of topographic factors is much more significant than that of heterogeneous factors, and the influence of both should be addressed in coseismic deformation calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the importance of systems approaches in addressing complex real-world problems. The author highlights the tension between rigor and relevance in these approaches, emphasizing the need for a "systems stance" that balances principles such as sufficiency and requisite detail. The article presents five papers that exemplify different frameworks of rigorous inquiry, including the use of causal loop diagrams and fault trees. It also explores the combination of soft (social) and hard (technical) systems, as well as the analysis of interactions and feedback loops. The author concludes by emphasizing the participatory nature of systems approaches and their relevance to engineering practice. [Extracted from the article]

The 2015 Nepal Earthquake (Mw7.8) affected more than 9000 schools in the country. Damage distribution in the 14 most-affected administrative districts shows that the construction practices were an important determent for the level of damage extended. The use of improper construction materials, lack of construction supervision, and non-compliance with the existing building codes during design and construction probably contributed to severe damage to most of the school buildings. Based on the damage analysis data and experience of the rebuilding process after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, this paper highlights the steps to be considered during a rebuilding plan for school buildings after an earthquake disaster. Preliminary damage assessment results show that in the most-affected districts, about 86% of schools (locations) were affected by the earthquake and about one million students were out of their schools for a long time. The damage survey data indicate that about 30% of classrooms collapsed, about 13% of classrooms sustained major damage, and about 17% of classrooms sustained minor damage within the most-affected 14 districts. This damage report is largely based on the secondary data provided by the concerned government authorities. Such evidence of loss and damage in earthquake disasters provides an opportunity to learn lessons for future preparedness and to encounter disaster challenges. This work shares an experience on the rebuilding process of damaged schools and classrooms. It is expected that the experience reported in this paper will help in better planning of the seismic safety of school buildings in Nepal as well as in other similar seismically active regions. Most papers related to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake focus on overall building damage, but this paper addresses the issues of school buildings. As a case report, this paper probably lacks scientific originality, but the presentation of the damage data and the rebuilding process are the original work of the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The growing prominence of disaster research has also prompted vibrant discussions about the motivation and ethical conduct of disaster researchers. Yet, the individual researchers' aspirations and aims, together with the challenging and changing circumstances under which one undertakes disaster research have received relatively scant attention. Drawing on the author's personal experience of becoming a disaster researcher under the unexpected humanitarian crisis following the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, this paper seeks to contribute to the debates surrounding the role of reflexivity and ethical sensitivity in doing disaster research under the climate of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on the author's reflections and vignettes to highlight the author's experience of becoming a disaster researcher, and my trajectory of navigating the complex terrain of fieldwork. Findings: The paper underscores how the process of becoming a disaster researcher was closely intertwined with and shaped by my concerns and care for the disaster-affected communities. The paper argues that doing contextually relevant and ethically sensitive research is not a static target. It demands constant reflexivity and improvisation, in response to the unpredictable real-world conditions of disasters. Instead of aiming to tame such uncertainty, disaster researchers may benefit from appreciating and embracing uncertainty as a major facet of its epistemological distinctiveness. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the ongoing efforts in advancing methodological reflection and innovation in disaster research. In so doing, the paper is expected to aid early-career researchers who are often faced with ethical and practical dilemmas of doing fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nexus between land use and climate change is a critical aspect of sustainable development, and few places show this inter-relationship better than Nepal. This paper uses Nepal as an example to explore the interconnections between land use and climate change, highlighting the key challenges and opportunities. Nepal, with its diverse topography and ecosystems, is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The country's unique land use patterns, including agriculture, forest cover, and urbanization, play a significant role in shaping its climate resilience and carbon balance. This paper highlights the complex relationship between land use and climate change in such an environment. Balancing land use practices, conserving forests, and biodiversity, and promoting sustainable agriculture are essential for achieving climate resilience and sustainable development. The paper shows that only by addressing the nexus between land use and climate change, can Nepal move towards a more sustainable and climate-resilient future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hereon, we discuss limited research in the field of the humanitarian supply chain that focuses on the application of operational improvement programs to stabilize health and economy locally or globally. The I "Global Humanitarian Response Plan COVID-19" i was outlined by the United Nations ([12]) to facilitate the actioning of a successful response implementation plan for a large-scale COVID19 pandemic. I Nayak et al. i , presents a novel integrated lean and agile (leagile) framework which could be employed to efficiently and effectively manage humanitarian logistics and supply chain management in a local jurisdiction of a disaster-hit region in a non-mature economy (Nepal). Additionally, catastrophic events or natural disasters have the potential to significantly disrupt the supply chain operations of organizations and thus impact on their balance sheet (Ambulkar, Blackhurst, and Grawe [2]). [Extracted from the article]

Decision‐makers and stakeholders require a rapid assessment of potential damage after earthquake events in order to develop and implement disaster risk reduction strategies and to respond systematically in post‐disaster situations. The damage investigated manually after an earthquake are complicated, labor‐intensive, time‐consuming, and error prone process. The development of fragility curves is time consuming and unable to predict the damage for wide classes of structures since it considers few structural properties and only one seismic characteristic. Furthermore, the nonlinear finite element method cannot be utilized for numerous buildings because it involves more time and money. This paper presents the machine learning (ML)‐based seismic damage prediction of RC buildings. It is found that some of the research works only considered seismic parameters or structural parameters to train the ML models and predict the structural damage assessment. However, these ML models may not fully reveal the underlying complexity of the relationship between input parameters and building performance. As a result, their applicability will be limited. This paper evaluates the feasibility of using ML techniques such as K‐nearest neighbor, random forest, decision tree, support vector machine, and artificial neural network to rapidly predict earthquake‐induced reinforced concrete building damage considering both the structural properties and ground motion characteristics. The machine learning models are trained using the simulation results. Due to lack of real earthquake damage datasets or limited access, most of the research works used Scikit Learn train_test_split function to randomly split the entire datasets into training and testing datasets and the performance of the proposed ML technique are evaluated using the testing datasets. However, in this study, the performances of different ML models are evaluated using real earthquake damage datasets of RC buildings collected after 2015 Nepal earthquake. The overall accuracy on testing datasets suggests the capability of machine learning algorithms in successfully predicting the seismic damage of reinforced concrete buildings in quick time with reasonable accuracy. This study is beneficial in emergency response and recovery planning after an earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationalism remains a major influence on international relations in an increasingly globalised world. Many of the wars that erupted after the Cold War have their origins in ethnic tensions, border conflicts, or national aspirations. Given this, the geo-politicisation of nationalism deserves more attention in the literature. The current study aims to further the area by considering the role of territorial disputes in spawning various forms of nationalism and geopolitics. It develops an analytical framework based on the existing border dispute between Nepal and India in the 'Kalapani' region. Post-2019, the Kalapani dispute not only has represented bilateral border disputes between two entities but also reflects the overall geopolitics of the region. Similarly, it also represents the rise of 'nationalism' as a political anchor point in domestic politics in both India and Nepal. The paper based its assessment on the primary and secondary data analysis. Drawing on the data, this paper argues that border disputes between India and Nepal have two facets that signal the rising nationalism in both sides and the changing geopolitics of South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is an ecologically sensitive, cost-effective, and locally adaptive climate adaptation strategy to strengthen the climate resilience of vulnerable communities. While many studies on EbA have been conducted in rural and mountainous regions or within the natural sciences realm, there is a lack of comprehensive research that assesses how urban EbA measures have been incorporated into existing policies and plans in Global South, including in Nepal. Ecosystem-based adaptation is in the early stages of its establishment as a fundamental component to address climate adaptation and sustainable development in urban environments. Accordingly, effective integration strategies, challenges, potential focal areas, and entry points have yet to be extensively studied. To address the literature gap, this paper analyses the types of EbA interventions and the extent of urban EbA integration within Nepal's climate, urban, and sectoral policies and plans. Direct content analysis and a qualitative scoring system were used to evaluate the plan components and assess the level of EbA integration. The findings indicate that the policies and plans recognise the importance of conserving, enhancing, and managing ecosystems for climate change adaptation, and EbA measures are mainly included in action-oriented sections. However, the results also reveal inadequate EbA integration, particularly in the information base, vision and objectives, and implementation aspects. The implementation component notably lacks comprehensive provisions for budget allocation, responsible authorities, definite timelines, and clear roadmaps. The breakdown of EbA integration in the policies and plans suggests that climate and urban plans substantially integrate urban EbA measures, but discrepancies exist with climate and urban policies and sectoral policies and plans. These findings collectively emphasise a pressing need to enhance the recognition and integration of urban EbA measures within policy frameworks with a view towards strengthening climate resilience and mitigating climate-related hazards in urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of mathematics education in Nepal had not been explored until the end of the twentieth century. After exploration, it was not included in mathematics curricula due to the invasion of western modern mathematics since 1853. It is quite disheartening that the students who graduated from the university remained ignorant about Nepal's mathematics education history. Against this background, the central purpose of this argumentative paper is to explore oppressive forces behind colonial meddling and envisage an alternative anticolonial proposal of the history of mathematics education. By using anticolonial critical lens as a referent, I offer four phases-classical humanists, multi-epistemic, neo-colonial, and critical discourse – by challenging the linear, neutral, and informative ways of reading and writing history. These phases incorporate Nepal's rich socio-cultural, historical, and political landscape, contribute to creating new discourses and perspectives in mathematics education, and thus reconceptualize a history of mathematics education as a means of transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work presented in paper is focussed on the development of an accurate time-frequency representation of accelerograms, representing the seismic activity of the Himalayalan regions. The Himalayas have a long history of high levels of seismicity due to the movement of tectonic plates in the region. The effectiveness of the advanced time-frequency analysis (TFA) method known as Wavelet Synchro-Squeezed Transforms (WSST) has been exploited for processing accelerograms of the regions. Obtaining simultaneous time and frequency localizations with high levels of resolution is always challenging for non-stationary signals such as accelerograms. To have better time and frequency localization, the first part of the paper proposes an advanced TFA technique using WSST. The second part of work is then focused on devising a technique for accurate synthesis of the accelerograms to represent the actual and limited seismic records. A WSST based denoising is further proposed to remove the unwanted noise from the signals. Using the available actual recorded data from the region, respective synthetic accelerograms and response spectra have been developed for different magnitude and distance ranges using the WSST technique. The synthetic signals are then authenticated with the actual signal data using different Joint-TFA (JTFA) approaches. The effectiveness of the proposed WSST based synthesis method is further confirmed by higher structural similarity metric (SSIM) scores when compared with the time-frequency representations of the reference ground truth accelerograms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepal experienced record-breaking summer monsoon precipitation in 2020, becoming the wettest year of the last four decades (1980–2020). This paper explores the role of large-scale atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature patterns in tipping an otherwise typical wet summer into an extreme one in 2020. The unusually high precipitation was fuelled by the Western North Pacific Anticyclone (WNPAC), concomitant with the strong presence of moist static energy and enhanced vertical velocity in and near Nepal. Sea surface temperature anomalies showed an intense Indian Ocean warming and features of a La Niña, succeeding a weak El Niño event that had sustained the WNPAC. The southwesterly winds on the northern flank of then WNPAC contributed excess moisture transport and convergence to Nepal, consequently resulting in elevated precipitation. This feature is consistent with previous wet summer years, but the presence of WNPAC in those years followed the El Niño event. Therefore, it appears that the Indo-western Pacific Ocean Capacitor (IPOC) effect exerts the above-normal precipitation for the summer of 2020 without involving the El Niño event, while anthropogenic warming may have further tipped the balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing need for humanitarian assistance has inspired an increasing amount of academic publications in the field of humanitarian logistics. Over the past two decades, the humanitarian logistics literature has developed a powerful toolbox of standardized problem formulations to address problems ranging from distribution to scheduling or locations planning. At the same time, the humanitarian field is quickly evolving, and problem formulations heavily rely on the context, leading to calls for more evidence-based research. While mixed methods research designs provide a promising avenue to embed research in the reality of the field, there is a lack of rigorous mixed methods research designs tailored to translating field findings into relevant HL optimization models. In this paper, we set out to address this gap by providing a systematic mixed methods research design for HL problem in disasters response. The methodology includes eight steps taking into account specifics of humanitarian disasters. We illustrate our methodology by applying it to the 2015 Nepal earthquake response, resulting in two evidence-based HL optimization models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disasters can have substantial impacts on people's livelihoods in developing countries. Further, if the need for livelihood interventions is ignored or delayed, the crisis may trigger unexpected harmful consequences in the affected households in the aftermath. Therefore, restoring livelihoods should remain a priority in the post-disaster recovery process. However, such recoveries in rural contexts and developing countries, like Nepal, are complex as the livelihood restoration process is affected by serious spatial, socio-economic, and political factors. We employed qualitative research methods in four highly affected districts in the 2015 Nepal Earthquake (7.8 Mw) to examine post-disaster livelihoods recovery. Our paper critically assesses the humanitarian response based on the narratives and lived experiences of affected households. The findings show that humanitarian assistance was crucial in addressing several unmet needs of disaster-affected rural households in resource-poor settings in Nepal. However, the interventions were generally fragmented, insufficient, neoliberal led (forcing market dependencies), and largely business-as-usual in their orientation. Previous studies in Nepal paid insufficient attention to the goods provided to affected households in the name of recovery. Therefore, our paper scrutinises selected humanitarian objects, such as power tillers, and unpacks their political economy and effectiveness in local contexts. Further, our findings show that some livelihood policies reinforced the gap between the haves and have-nots, thereby reproducing pre-disaster inequalities in the post-disaster field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 Gorkha earthquake was one of the most devastating earthquakes in Nepal in this century. Postdisaster reconstruction is a complex and highly challenging process, especially concerning developing countries like Nepal, as it involves several well-coordinated plans and working activities. Due to the large scale of devastation, the Nepal government created a separate body, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), to manage and oversee recovery and reconstruction activities. This paper briefly discusses organizations typically involved in postdisaster reconstruction processes and the multifaceted roles they play. Document analysis on research papers, collected reports from the NRA, governmental departments, and many other organizations involved in the reconstruction was carried out. This study provides a comprehensive review of the reconstruction process after the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake, whereas previous studies have covered a specific issue. The reconstruction works are presented structurally in detail. Similarly, the crucial steps and lesson learned for managing expectations and building back better are highlighted. This study may help to develop effective organization and policies in future postdisaster reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic risk analysis is necessary to mitigate the potential losses resulting from future earthquakes and supplement scientific risk management. In order to assist systematic evaluation and management of risk, it is indispensable to interpret risk in terms of social and economic consequences due to hazardous events like earthquakes. There is an interrelationship between hazards, physical risk, and the social characteristics of populations. Therefore, based on the existing studies focusing on each of these aspects, this paper presents the integrated seismic risk assessment along the subdivisional administrative units of Nepal using 2011 census data. The administrative unit "provinces" are subdivided into districts and each district into municipalities and village development committees (VDCs). The districts, municipalities, and VDCs were considered as our study units. In this paper, the physical or seismic risk was evaluated from the exposure model, hazard curves, and the vulnerability model of the country, whereas the social vulnerability was assessed using social vulnerability index (SoVI) methods. To formulate the physical risk, the assets used were five types of buildings under the exposure model. This model was combined with the physical vulnerability functions of the building and the hazard curves of the country. The result of the physical risk has been presented as annual average loss (AAL). Similarly, among 92 social vulnerability variables, 54 variables were reduced to 7 weighted parameters using principal component analysis (PCA). The scores of a total of 45 parameters were used to evaluate the SoVI index, which was further combined with the physical risk to evaluate integrated risk. The results showed that populated cities like Kathmandu, Hetauda, and Janakpur have a highly integrated risk index. Similarly, the Terai region bordering its neighbor India and some parts of the central hilly region are highly vulnerable, while most parts of the mountainous region in the central and eastern regions are the least vulnerable. The results from the present study can be utilized as a part of a comprehensive risk management framework at the district level to recuperate and recover from earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the possible relationship between solar activity and monthly rainfall in Pokhara and Kathmandu cities in Nepal from the year 1968 to 2023. The study uses Cross Correlation Analysis (CCA) and wavelet analysis, the Cross-Wavelet Transform (XWT) and Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC), to analyze the time series data. The CCA shows a strong positive correlation between the solar cycle and rainfall trend, with correlation coefficients of 0.77 and 0.76 and time lags of 18 months and 14 months at Pokhara and Kathmandu, respectively. The p-values, calculated to be < 0.0001 through the t-test, indicate that the observed correlations are statistically significant. The XWT results show a long-term ∼ 11-year common periodicity in solar cycle and rainfall. The WTC analysis confirms the local correlation between these two time series in time–frequency domain at a common periodicity. The results indicate that the monthly rainfall pattern in Nepal is closely related to the solar cycle pattern. Thus, solar activity likely plays a role in influencing rainfall trends in Nepal. This study shows that solar-climate interaction on a regional scale is complex and emphasizes the importance of understanding these relationships for predicting and managing climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, owner-driven reconstruction (ODR) has become a default large-scale post-disaster housing strategy and particularly in resource-poor countries. The latest example is the 2015 Nepal earthquake reconstruction effort. Although an impressive amount of house rebuilding did occur, more and more families have rebuilt their homes as one-room or one-storey earthquake-safe abodes that barely fulfil family needs. In this paper, inspired by Lefebvre's 'production of space' concept, I discuss how ODR has changed building construction in rural Nepal. I also argue that ODR followed a 'trendy' donor-preferred housing reconstruction strategy without seriously taking into account the implementation issues, particularly the paucity of effective approaches to mobilize people to rebuild their houses. Through a critical review of previous ODR cases and my ethnographic study of the Nepal earthquake, I find that five key elements of successful ODR practices are missing. These are organizational structure of reconstruction institution, technical support, public-private partnerships, policy communication, and support for vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: 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). Design/methodology/approach: 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. Findings: 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. Originality/value: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An earthquake of moment magnitude (Mw) 7.8, the largest in the last 80 years, struck central Nepal on April 25, 2015. Named the Gorkha earthquake, it wreaked havoc on the country's central region, affecting 32 of 77 districts. The earthquake impacted nearly a million private houses, thousands of educational infrastructures, hundreds of health facilities, myriad cultural heritages and many other infrastructures. The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) was established to lead the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction and complete it within five years. This paper presents details of the earthquake's effects, the early response and the status of the post-earthquake reconstruction progress five years after the earthquake. Official reports from Nepalese government institutions, national and international authorities, government databases and research papers on the Gorkha earthquake were reviewed. The numbers of various infrastructures reconstructed and under construction each year after the earthquake and the reconstruction processes adopted are presented. The results show that 67% of private houses, 74% of educational institutions and 58% of health facilities were reconstructed in the five years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sustainability of school infrastructure and resilience of educational communities to natural hazards are of paramount importance to provide the safety and protection against various natural and man-made threats children face. The 2015 Nepal earthquake and its impact on schools confirms this approach at multiple levels, since schools are built as structures, supported as financial entities by the state, and function as social clusters within each community. In the literature, there are various guidelines and frameworks for safety and resilience of schools. Notable amongst these, the UNISDR's Comprehensive School Safety Framework consists of three pillars including safe school facilities, school disaster management and risk reduction education. A systems perspective requires a holistic approach to resilience of schools incorporating the safety of school buildings, governance and funding, provision of supporting infrastructure, school curriculum and more importantly, the resourcefulness of educational communities. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, to present a quantifiable, holistic framework for the resilience of schools, and second, to demonstrate how the framework is rooted in a systems thinking perspective. The novelty of the proposed framework lies in resilience assessment using a participatory, multi-disciplinary and holistic approach tailored to the salient features of a low-income country. This work is part of a Special Issue on Systems Perspectives: Clarity through Examples (see Dias 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the energy sector is the largest global contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector account for up to 80% of GHG emissions in the least developed countries (LDCs). Despite this, the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of LDCs, including Nepal, focus primarily on climate mitigation in the energy sector. This paper introduces green growth—a way to foster economic growth while ensuring access to resources and environmental services—as an approach to improving climate policy coherence across sectors. Using Nepal as a case country, this study models the anticipated changes in resource use and GHG emissions between 2015 and 2030, that would result from implementing climate mitigation actions in Nepal's NDC. The model uses four different scenarios. They link NDC and policies across economic sectors and offer policy insights regarding (1) energy losses that could cost up to 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, (2) protection of forest resources by reducing the use of biomass fuels from 465 million gigajoules (GJ) in 2015 to 195 million GJ in 2030, and (3) a significant reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 relative to the business‐as‐usual (BAU) case by greater use of electricity from hydropower rather than biomass. These policy insights are significant for Nepal and other LDCs as they seek an energy transition towards using more renewable energy and electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

From celestial objects to every feature on Earth, geodesy provides a reference frame and is the foundation for surveying, mapping, and other geoscience activities. In Nepal, geodesy was officially introduced after 1924 to prepare the topographic map series. Although the previous geodetic project occurred with foreign assistance, Nepal is using national resources to conduct milestone projects such as the re-measurement of Mount Everest height in 2020 and the ongoing LiDAR survey of western Terai. Taking the 2015 Gorkha earthquake as a reference, this paper reviews the past and present geodetic activities in Nepal. It presents the history of conventional Nepal datum as a horizontal datum and Indian mean sea level-based vertical datum, and modern satellite geodesy works on the Himalayas. Considering recent earthquakes, continuous crustal motion, international and global compliance, and increasing demand for precise positional accuracy from the users and stakeholders, this paper discusses future directions to build, establish, maintain, and operate modern terrestrial, height, and gravity reference systems and frames. This paper consolidates many reports and experiences from Nepal and will serve as useful documentation for newcomers whose interests align in geodesy and Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to understand how Twitter users responded to the cultural heritage damaged during the 2015 Nepal earthquake. This paper utilizes 201,457 tweets (including retweets) from three different data sets. The analysis shows that approximately 4% of tweets were regarding cultural heritage. Moreover, asymmetrical information was available on Twitter regarding cultural heritage during the Nepal earthquake, that is not every site received equal attention from the public. Damaged sites received more attention than unaffected sites. The content of tweets can be divided into five categories: information, sentiment, memory, action and noise. Most people (89.1%) used Twitter during the disaster to disseminate information regarding damaged cultural heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sudden natural disasters can create a massive need for immediate relief and long-term reconstruction efforts. Such support can come from various individuals and organizations, both within the country where the disaster occurred and increasingly from abroad. An important group who are becoming more active in providing such support of money and materials are the migrant and diaspora population living in other countries. This paper examines the role of Nepali migrant and diaspora population living in the United States after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal in their remitting behaviour, both in private and towards donations. Based on a web-based survey response analysis, this paper finds that the respondents were actively involved in sending back money to their families and towards relief efforts in Nepal after the earthquake but a strong trust deficit among the diaspora population in the US and agencies related to the Nepali government is also noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance for emergency rescue to rapidly assess damage of buildings after an earthquake. Some previous methods are time-consuming, data are difficult to obtain, or there is lack of regional damage assessment. We proposed a novel way to rapidly assess building damage by comprehensively utilizing earth observation-derived data and field investigation to alleviate the above problems. These data are related to hazard-causing factors, hazard-formative environment, and hazard-affected body. Specifically, predicted ground motion parameters are used to reflect hazard-causing factors, e.g., peak ground velocity (PGV), peak ground acceleration (PGA), and pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA). The hazard-formative environment is denoted by the underground 30 m shear wave velocity. Vulnerability of buildings is reflected by their structure type, age, and height. We take the April 2015 Nepal earthquake as a case study, and building damage data interpreted from satellite images are used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Based on the gradient boosting machine, this paper rapidly assesses building damage from two different spatial levels, i.e., pixel and microzone, and obtains the potentially affected position and regional damage rate. Compared with the method of fragility function, the machine learning method provide a better estimation of the building damage rate. Compared with the assessment method based on remote sensing image, the method in this paper is very efficient since spatial distribution of hazard-causing factors, e.g., PGA, can be quickly predicted shortly after an earthquake. The comparison of experiment with and without vulnerability data of buildings shows that data on the vulnerability of buildings are very important to improve the assessment accuracy of building damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nepal, historic earthquakes have shown extensive liquefaction in different areas of the country, including its capital, Kathmandu Valley. The 1833 and 1934 earthquakes caused significant harm due to liquefaction. An earthquake of moment Mw7.8 struck on 25 April, 2015, keeping the epicentre at the central part of Nepal. Although damages due to liquefaction were limited, several surface manifestations were observed at various places in the valley. This paper summarises the field reconnaissance concerning the liquefaction cases in Kathmandu after the mainshock. The field observations, alongside results from liquefaction evaluation, contrasts with the previous liquefaction studies conducted before the 2015 Earthquake for the valley. To evaluate the irregularity of existing maps with the ground manifestations caused by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we utilised the geotechnical database gathered from 400 locations before the quake and 10 boreholes drilled before the 2015 Gorkha earthquake to conduct quantitative analyses and modelling using simplified procedure by Idriss and Boulanger (2008). Likewise, the susceptibility of affected zones to liquefaction during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake is depicted, and utilized standard technique is validated to estimate liquefaction hazard in Kathmandu Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The scarcity of flat lands in the hilly region forces the construction of buildings on sloping terrain with foundations constructed at different levels. These buildings are inherently vulnerable to earthquakes due to horizontal and vertical irregularities that are extremely hard to avoid because of the nature of the terrain. Compounding on that fact, a large stock of buildings in the hilly region have been constructed without following the earthquake-resistant design provisions, the consequences of which were evident in past seismic events such as the 2011 Sikkim earthquake and the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Methods: The paper aims to assess the explicit and combined effect of seismic design provisions of Indian Standards on the seismic response of a set of Un-Reinforced Masonry (URM) infilled Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings on a hill with the prevalent configuration observed. 3D analytical models have been considered for the RC frame elements with infill-frame interaction taken into account by diagonal strut elements. Incremental dynamic analyses have been performed for a realistic assessment of key parameters influencing the seismic performance of such buildings. Results: It has been observed that the seismic response parameters in terms of joint displacement and inter-storey drift ratio are higher for buildings designed considering only gravity loads as compared to buildings designed as Special Moment Resisting Frame (SMRF) as per relevant Indian seismic design standards whereas minor variations were observed in the roof acceleration and Peak Storey Acceleration (PSA). It has also been observed that collapse probability at any given seismic hazard level reduces significantly when the Gravity Load Designed (GLD) RC building is designed and detailed as SMRF. It has further been observed that the collapse probability of the GLD RC building can be reduced by more than 40% at the design seismic hazard level if seismic design and ductile detailing provisions are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making reference to recent scholarly discussions on neoliberalism and disaster recovery, in this paper I discuss how the implemented neoliberal doctrines of governance have reinforced the existing asymmetrical power relationships between the state, international agencies and citizens. This process constitutes a major barrier to achieving sustainable recovery after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. In particular, three issues, namely the risk of disempowering local communities' capacity, lack of commitment to long‐term recovery, and commodification of the recovery process, have resulted that the recovery policy basically favours the interests of international donors, and NGOs, not those of local communities. To achieve sustainable recovery, post disaster interventions must be socially inclusive. Local affected communities should be meaningfully engaged, and that social learning and sustainability transformation should be enabled as these are key processes at the core of community resilience and of any community resilience‐building strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an attempt has been made to arrive at sufficiently realistic estimates of the average shear‐wave velocity in the top 30 m of the ground (VS30 ${V}_{S30}$) for 200 strong motion recording sites spread over the Himalayas, adjoining Indo‐Gangetic plains and northeast Indian regions. This is achieved by extending the application of the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method for the strong motion recording sites with a limited number of records. The knowledge of surface geology at the recording sites and the VS30 ${V}_{S30}$ estimates based on the topographic slope method has been utilized as supplementary information to arrive at a good first‐order approximation of VS30 ${V}_{S30}$ for the sites with a single record also. A total of 669 three‐component acceleration records have been obtained at the 200 sites considered from 158 different earthquakes in the magnitude range of 2.3–7.9 during 1986–2015. It had not been possible to use this database fruitfully due to lack of the required site characterization. Compared to the costly and time‐taking field studies required for the estimation of exact site‐specific values, the proposed scheme can be considered to provide a convenient methodology for obtaining sufficiently reliable approximations of VS30 ${V}_{S30}$ from the recorded strong motion data. The VS30 ${V}_{S30}$ values obtained in this study are found to be in very good agreement with the site‐specific experimental values available for 29 of the sites, establishing the validity of the proposed scheme. An alternative site characterization is also provided in terms of the site soil and the local geological conditions, both defined in terms of three categories specified by indicator variables with values of 0, 1 and 2. Lee and Trifunac have illustrated that this characterization has stronger correlation with the ground motion amplitudes than the VS30 ${V}_{S30}$ as well as the NEHRP site classes based on broad intervals of VS30 ${V}_{S30}$. The site characterization of the 200 strong motion recording sites in the present study will find useful applications in developing region‐specific empirical ground motion prediction equations with the site amplification effects modeled realistically and in selecting suitable equations from the published literature using score‐based data‐driven methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unreinforced Masonry buildings (URMs) were the most prevalent construction practice in the rural areas of Nepal. During the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, most of these buildings suffered critical damage. Consequently, after the disaster, National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) was established to provide technical and financial assistance in the reconstruction process. This paper provides a qualitative framework for the assessment of masonry residential buildings in rural areas, considering the NRA minimum requirement, with Bhalche, Nuwakot as the study area. Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) and Key Informant Survey (KIS) were used to study, inspect and collect data and obtained results are compared with NRA minimum guidelines and Codal provisions. The study focuses only on a small but representative sample of reconstructed buildings rather than every building, with how and why of a particular issue rather than how many. The examination found that the reconstructed buildings in Bhalche have minor noncompliance issues, while significant noncompliance issues are found in all the houses constructed before the Government of Nepal's(GON) initiatives for reconstruction by the local people themselves using available local resources and existing knowledge. The KIS and RVS results are supported by case study examples and photos, respectively. The study also reviews the current building typology in Bhalche and attempts to delineate the rationale contributing to the undesired discrepancy in reconstructed buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, thousands of people around the world who face unequal access to political and social power and resources lose their lives and/or livelihoods in natural hazard events. As a result, the reduction of vulnerability has become a central concern of humanitarian actors. This paper analyses the impact of humanitarian assistance on vulnerabilities in Nepal following the Gorkha earthquake on 25 April 2015. The causes and manifestations of vulnerability before and after the disaster are determined through the application of the Pressure and Release model and the adoption of a mixed‐methods research approach. The findings of the study reveal that 20 months after the earthquake, humanitarian assistance had not had any long‐term positive influences on the root causes of the phenomenon, and that vulnerabilities at the micro level could be resolved in part. To diminish the extent of disasters in the future, however, the fundamental reasons for the vulnerability have to be addressed better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 25th April 2015 Nepal earthquake was the first major event in the Himalayan orogeny to provide a relatively well-recorded dataset. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the mainshock and its five major aftershocks through 21 well-established ground motion parameters. The analysis is presented for near-field stations of the Kathmandu basin and far-field stations of the Indo-Ganga Plains, including the site response behavior with varying sediment depths. Moreover, Hilbert–Huang Transform is used to study site amplifications associated with sediment depth and soil class, especially at long periods. In addition, a new ground motion model (GMM) is derived for all 21 parameters using moment magnitude, source-to-site distance, site class and sediment depth as predictor variables. Further, to ensure that the developed GMM is not biased, an inter-event and intra-event residual analysis is performed. Furthermore, the GMM is compared with other well-established prediction models applicable to the study region. The efficacy of the current model is further addressed by the evaluation of ranking indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepal possesses a good solar resource, and there has been increasing interest in the use of photovoltaic systems. About 1.1 million solar home systems, rated at nearly 30 MWp, have been installed across Nepal. With the introduction of net metering by the Nepal Electricity Authority, an increase in rooftop photovoltaics (RPV) is expected. However, to inform any policy developments around increased electricity generation, and the uptake of RPV, there is a need to quantify the potential of such systems (a situation mirrored in many developing countries). To this end, this study utilized a hierarchical geospatial technique based on open-source data to estimate the potential output from RPV in several cities in Nepal (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalgunj, and Biratnagar). It was found that the potential theoretical output of RPV ranged from 637 GWh per annum, in Kathmandu, to 50 GWh per annum in Butwal. Moreover, the total RPV potential from urban households of Nepal was estimated to be in the order 6.5 TWh per annum. As such, the findings of this paper can be used to make informed policy decisions about the future of Nepal's energy mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive picture of extreme precipitation across Nepal from 1976 to 2015 based on high‐quality daily precipitation observations from 28 precipitation stations spatially distributed across the country. We computed 11 extreme precipitation indices. The selected indices allow the analysis of extreme events (such as flood/inundation) related to heavy precipitation and evaluate the linkage with indications of agricultural production and drought (such as consecutive dry and wet days). Using a simple daily intensity index (SDII) and the number of days with daily precipitation ≥10 mm (R10), along with the total amount of annual precipitation (PRCPTOT), we summarized the distribution of the wet periods of the year at different locations. We divided the study period into two halves (T1: 1976–1995 and T2: 1996–2015) to examine the temporal mean, trends, and their shift. We emphasized the changes in those indices between these two periods across the country. Our results show that although the amount of precipitation (in terms of PRCPTOT and SDII) did not change significantly between the two periods (i.e., T1 and T2), there exists a clearly increasing trend of extreme precipitation indices in T2 compared to T1. In addition, the consecutive dry days show the rising tendency of elongated dry spells that can adversely affect plant/crop growth in the future. Our study recommends the need for effective management of both precipitation extremes (i.e., drier and wetter), for instance, by introducing irrigation facilities and flood mitigation measures. Plain Language Summary: We computed different precipitation indices using daily data from 28 precipitation stations spatially distributed across Nepal to obtain a clear picture of extreme precipitation from 1976 to 2015. We divided the study period into two halves of 20 years each. This study emphasizes the changes in magnitudes and trends of extreme precipitation between the two periods. Overall, we find that heavy precipitation indices increased significantly in the later period. Notably, dry spells (i.e., no rainfall) for consecutive days showed a remarkably increasing trend. Our results indicate the need for mitigation of this extreme precipitation to prevent both floods and drought. Key Points: We divide the study period (1976–2015) into two halves to analyze precipitation patterns and their shiftWe emphasize changes in the precipitation indices across the country between the two periodsWe find a clearly increasing trend of extreme precipitation indices in the recent period when compared to the earlier one [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article incorporates foreign intellectual capital in trade channels and in foreign direct investment channels into the unified analysis framework, using 1990-2015 transnational panel data to calculate the effects of domestic, especially in coastal regions and foreign intellectual capital spillover on total factor productivity of host countries. It is found that domestic intellectual capital investment is the main source of technological progress in host countries, and from the whole sample, foreign direct investment is the main channel for cross-border overflow of intellectual capital, while import trade has no significant impact on total factor productivity. According to the grouping, only developing countries will experience intellectual capital overflow through import trade with developed countries, while foreign direct investment between various types of countries will promote growth of total factor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how variations in sediment supply, grain size distribution and climate change affect channel morphology and flood inundation in the Nakkhu River, Kathmandu, Nepal. Climate change‐induced extreme rainfall is expected to increase flood intensity and frequency, causing severe flooding in the Kathmandu basin. The upper reaches of the Nakkhu River are susceptible to landslides and have been impacted by large‐scale sand mining. We simulate potential erosion and deposition scenarios along a 14 km reach of the Nakkhu River using the landscape evolution model CAESAR‐Lisflood with a 10 m digital elevation model, field‐derived sediment grain size data, daily discharge records and flood forecast models. In a series of numerical experiments, we compare riverbed profiles, cross‐sections, flood extent and flow depths for three scenarios (1.2‐, 85‐ and 1000‐year return period floods). For each scenario, the model is first run without sediment transport and then with sediment transport for three grain size distributions (GSDs) (observed average, finer and coarser). In all cases, the inclusion of sediment led to predicted floods of a larger extent than estimated without sediment. The sediment grain size distribution was found to have a significant influence on predicted river morphology and flood inundation, especially for lower magnitude, higher probability flood events. The results emphasise the importance of including sediment transport in hydrological models when predicting flood inundation in sediment‐rich rivers such as those in and around the Himalaya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does male out‐migration impact women's experience of post‐disaster reconstruction? This paper employs survey data collected by Nepal's Housing Recovery Reconstruction Platform in 2018 to establish robust associations between male out‐migration and three indicators of women's participation in rebuilding their private houses after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake: (i) knowing where to consult for information; (ii) visiting a local government official by oneself; and (iii) signing a rebuilding agreement with the local government. Twenty‐six semi‐structured interviews conducted in 2022 further revealed that women whose husbands were abroad undertook roles that they would not have performed had their spouse been present, including in relation to management and decision‐making. However, the interviews also highlighted challenges that women had to overcome, such as a lack of knowledge of procuring materials and difficulties leading the process as a woman. This study advances the literature by establishing a relationship between male out‐migration and variation in women's post‐earthquake rebuilding experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-disaster humanitarian logistic operations deal with the supply of emergency relief materials to mitigate damages in the affected areas. Immediately after the disaster, it is challenging to estimate the demand for emergency relief materials. As a result, the demand for such materials at the point of demand and the corresponding transportation costs for the entire supply chain network becomes uncertain. This paper proposes a new probabilistic fuzzy goal programming model for making decisions to manage the post-disaster supply of emergency relief materials. A suggested procedure converts the proposed model to its deterministic equivalent when the demands for the relief materials follow uniform distributions. We implement the differential evolution, a metaheuristic technique, for analyzing demand satisfaction for relief materials under various scenarios. A case example based on the Nepal Earthquake in 2015 demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed approach. The solution of the model will help the Disaster Management Agency coordinate with the humanitarian organizations and foreign countries to provide the required emergency relief materials so that an adequate level of supply can be assured to the affected areas with the least possible transportation cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occasionally, events occur that disrupt ongoing fieldwork, forcing researchers to deal with, and adapt to, new realities. In this paper, we discuss how the 2015 Nepal earthquake – which occurred while we were conducting fieldwork in one of the affected areas – forced us to reassess our research agenda, profoundly affected our relationship with the community we had been working in, and evoked challenging ethical questions in respect to our obligations to our research participants. Fieldwork often takes place in dynamic, uncertain environments. This is especially true of fieldwork in developing countries. Occasionally events can occur that have significant repercussions for ongoing research involving human participants. For example, political and social unrest, terror attacks, economic crises, epidemics, and natural disasters all have the potential to derail fieldwork plans and to radically alter the circumstances in which researchers operate. However, literature on how to anticipate and navigate these repercussions is limited. While a number of papers have reflected on the difficulties of conducting post‐crisis fieldwork, few have discussed the rather different challenge of dealing with, and adapting to, events that occur during ongoing work. In this paper, we discuss how the 2015 Nepal earthquake – which occurred while we were conducting fieldwork in one of the affected areas – forced us to reassess our research agenda, profoundly affected our relationship with the community we had been working in, and evoked challenging ethical questions in respect to our obligations to our research participants. Based on our reflections, we suggest eight issues that researchers who are engaged in fieldwork in high‐risk or post disaster locations should give consideration to. The issues include matters relating to research design, fieldwork risk and ethics assessment, interaction with research participants, and researcher support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nepal, heritage conservation is inherently political, as can be observed from the several heritage activisms in the various forms of protests, demonstrations, and criticisms of post-disaster reconstruction efforts of heritage structures of Kathmandu, which were heavily damaged by the Gorkha Earthquake of 2015. The politicization of heritage reconstruction is conspicuous in the government's approach to defining heritage objects and places for conservation, the methods by which it interprets the relics of the past, and the cultural history and the opposition it receives from local communities and civil society. This has led to the emergence of heritage activism to protect cultural heritage from the threat of loss. This paper aims at highlighting heritage activism and its role in the post-disaster context by discussing the politicization of the conservation agenda by the government (state actors) and activists (stakeholders). Specifically, it focuses the role of heritage activism using secondary sources of information to assess the heritage value, its significance, and the "event analysis method" to analyze the events of the protest against the government's reconstruction plan of Ranipokhari (Queen's Pond), located in the heart of the city of Kathmandu. The paper discusses the contributory factors for the emergence of heritage activism and its potential role in sensitizing state actors and stakeholders about the conservation agenda to safeguard conservation prerequisites. It concludes that heritage activism can serve as an important means of indirect public participation to influence the post-disaster conservation policies of heritage sites in developing countries like Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the seismic vulnerability of vernacular Newari buildings in Nepal. Based on the damage statistics and failure modes recorded during 1934, 1988, 2011, and 2015 earthquakes, damage probability matrices and seismic fragility functions are derived in this paper. Notable seismic features of the Newari buildings are identified and reported using forensic approach. The result of this study highlights that the vernacular Newari buildings are highly vulnerable in the case of minor to major earthquakes; however, the seismic features have contributed to downscale the damage extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critics have long questioned the push for professionalised and performance‐driven accountability in the humanitarian sector, yet the matter is largely treated as a 'back office' issue of standards, guidelines, and processes. Scant attention is paid to the accountability demands experienced by early responders to disasters. Set in the contested climate of the emergency response to the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015, and drawing on interviews with 15 early responders, this paper reveals three forms of accountability demands: (i) accountability as compliance; (ii) accountability as the object of government regulation; and (iii) accountability as public opposition and interrogation. Beyond the performance‐centric, non‐governmental organisation‐driven understanding of accountability, early responders to the earthquake experienced multidirectional accountability demands, not only from donors and beneficiaries, but also from the national government and wider public. Engaging with public criticism is a significant feature of early responders' responsibility that warrants further consideration by the humanitarian community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on the NZSEE Bulletin presents four papers covering diverse topics spanning into seismic performance of nonstructural elements (SPONSE) and learning from earthquakes (LFE). It mentions that this method enables improved prediction of floor acceleration demands for acceleration sensitive non-structural components and contents provided the building period is known.