One year on from the earthquake that devastated Nepal and killed nearly 9,000 people, little has been achieved to rebuild the area; despite $1.4bn in international aid being pledged by donors, only a tiny fraction has actually been committed and disbursed, leaving about 3,000 still in temporary shelters, according to the Save the Children aid group. Furthermore, political infighting, red tape and inefficiency have disrupted the building process. Also, a year on from the disaster, the authorities have still not announced new building codes needed to help cope with the next time a quake strikes. Seismologists are warning there are several places across the Himalayas that are overdue for a "big one", possibly much stronger than last year's quake. The next high-magnitude quake "is going to be a massive, huge disaster for Nepal," according to Tamang of Plan International aid agency, adding that similarly, Nepal also faces the threat of quake triggered landslides, of which there were around 3,000 last year, burying villages, blocking roads and destroying farmland.
One year on from the earthquake that devastated Nepal and killed nearly 9,000 people, little has been achieved to rebuild the area; despite $1.4bn in international aid being pledged by donors, only a tiny fraction has actually been committed and disbursed, leaving about 3,000 still in temporary shelters, according to the Save the Children aid group. Furthermore, political infighting, red tape and inefficiency have disrupted the building process. Also, a year on from the disaster, the authorities have still not announced new building codes needed to help cope with the next time a quake strikes. Seismologists are warning there are several places across the Himalayas that are overdue for a "big one", possibly much stronger than last year's quake. The next high-magnitude quake "is going to be a massive, huge disaster for Nepal," according to Mattias Bryneson of Plan International aid agency, adding that similarly, Nepal also faces the threat of quake triggered landslides, of which there were around 3,000 last year, burying villages, blocking roads and destroying farmland.