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Disaster preparedness
I've seen this at countless levels. Lets take earthquake preparedness. This country is heading for a major catastrophe. Everyone I meet in Nepal knows this. But there is this level of complacency and inaction that boggles the mind. Yes the government can be doing more to form disaster rescue plans, but there's so much each one of us can do to mitigate the danger. Look at the designs of all the new buildings coming up in our city. Earthquake safe design? Wait, we have earthquakes in Nepal? Fail.
Ok. Swine flu. You know, the stuff that's been all over the news and on everyone's minds lately. If, god forbid, it gets here into Nepal I'm willing to bet there's zero safety nets in place. Just a few short years ago two tourists checked into a hospital because they were worried they might have caught SARS from their trip before coming into Nepal. The response? The hospital turned them away because the staff were completely unprepared and afraid of catching it themselves. Yep. I'm really confident now that we have a good flu epidemic plan in place - it's called hoping like hell that it doesn't get into Nepal.
At this rate this post will turn into a book, so I'll just list areas where we're completely unprepared.
- Floods
- Disease [epidemics]
- Fires (hello Ason + name me one building in Kathmandu with a fire escape or fire extinguishers)
- Financial (what, you think there's regulation at banks in Nepal?)
- Hospital equipment (dear God, if or when I need emergency medical care please let me be outside Nepal)
Yes, we're a poor nation. But you know what? This is not about money. We can drive cheap cars and wear seat belts.
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2.
sthapit
@crayt21 - I don't think safety is about being literate (though that definitely helps). I think this would happen in most countries where building code implementation is not enforced by the government. Since our government is not capable I think ordinary citizens should be extra vigilant to make sure we're safe.
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Arbinde Rajkarnicar
The last time I heard, NSET together with municipal corporations of Kathmandu, Lalitpur (dont know about Bhaktapur), the government and the Nepal Red Cross Society have together put in place an earthquake disaster response plan for the Valley. This includes ward level volunteers and preparedness training. Plan includes the use of Tundikhel as staging areas and medical camps for the injured. Estimated deaths for Kathmandu are over 50,000 people and loss of over 100,000 homes after the next quake. NSET advised people to stock up on a week's worth of rations. NSET estimates that it would take a week before any international help can arrive. Also owing to the fact that all six bridges linking to the international airport would be unusable for transporting aid.
Yes, you're right, money is not the only thing that can make things safer. It's education. People need to be more literate. That way, people will start building safer houses. Plus, education will keep hooligans off the streets.
11 months ago