With large working-age populations and limited domestic employment opportunities, South Asian countries are a significant source of migrant labour. South Asia is the second-highest remittance-receiving region in the world, and this money sent back home by migrants plays a crucial role in poverty reduction and improving livelihoods of the households they support. Containment measures imposed in response to the pandemic in both destination and home countries have severely disrupted both the ability of migrants to work and the freedom of movement needed to enable them to return to their homes safely. Secondary impacts of COVID-19 are emerging, including labour shortages within cities that depend on migrant labourers, the stigmatisation of migrant workers who have returned to their home areas, the inability to access any form of social assistance due to lack of formal contracts, and longer-term mental and physical effects of the journey back to their homes.
Many migrant workers, most of them from Nepal, lost their employment when the Indian governmentimposed a strict lockdown on 25 March to contain the spread of COVID-19. With theeasing of the lockdown, 600,000 migrant workers are expected to return to Nepal in the coming weeks andmay weaken the effectiveness of Nepal’s COVID-19 mitigation measures. In March alone, around 500,000people crossed the border from India without any screening or other measures applied. The healthcare system will likely be put under significant stress as aconsequence of increased cases of COVID-19, and access to health serviceswill become more limited. The return of Nepalese migrants will put additionalpressure on an already overstretched healthcare system and will allow thevirus to spread even faster.
Heavy rainfall since 11 July has triggered flooding and landslides across south-eastern and central Nepal. Provinces 1, 2 and 3 are worst hit, with province 2 as the most severely affected area. An estimated 75,900 people have been displaced across the country. Shelter, WASH, health and food needs are reported. As of 16 July, 78 people have been killed, 32 people are missing, and 40 others have been injured. Flooding and landslides have blocked and damaged roads and bridges, hampering the humanitarian response.
Due to prolonged rainfall across Nepal from 11-14 August, 31 out of 75 districts have been affected by flooding and landslides. The southern Terai region has been particularly affected with an estimated 450,000 people affected by flooding and landslides. In this region 43 people were killed and an estimated 32,000 houses were damaged. Districts in central and eastern Terai have the highest reported impacts. Currently the impacts from flooding significantly outweigh those of landslides although the risk remains as rains persist and continue to hamper response efforts.
The aim of this product is to improve the performance of humanitarian actors in the response of the Nepal earthquake, assist agencies working in the response and encourage positive action by decision makers. The lessons learned below have been a product of the analysis of main findings and lessons from evaluations of past earthquakes, with similar characteristics and features of Nepal.
As of 27 April, 21:30 local time, at least 3,904 people have died and more than 7,180 have been injured. The situation is still unclear in remote areas, which remain cut off or hard to access.
As of 27 April, aftershocks are still being felt. At least 44 aftershocks have occurred since 25 April. Magnitudes aftershocks have ranged from 4.1–6.7.
On 25 April, 11:41 local time, an earthquake with of 7.8 magnitude and a depth of 2 km, hit Nepal near the capital city of Kathmandu. The epicentre is located 77km northwest of Kathmandu, and 68km east from Pokhara. Tremors have also caused damage outside Nepal.
The government has reported that a total of 30 districts have been affected in the Western and Central Regions, including Kathmandu Valley districts. There is no total figure of affected population yet WHO has estimated that over 5 million people are affected.
On 25 April, 11:41 local time, an earthquake with of 7.8 magnitude and a depth of 2 km, hit Nepal near the capital city of Kathmandu. The epicentre is located 81km northwest of Kathmandu, and 68km east from Pokhara. Quake tremors were felt from between 30 seconds and two minutes.
As of 20:20 local time, 25 April, at least 876 people have died, 242 of them in Kathmandu. At least 2,000 people have been injured. The number of casualties is expected to increase dramatically as information is collected.
As of 17:55 local time, 25 April, at least 18 aftershocks have been felt. Magnitudes of some aftershocks have ranged from 5–6.6.
Hospitals are overwhelmed, and as aftershocks continue, victims are being treated in the streets. Reports suggest people are still trapped under the rubble, and some affected areas have still to be reached.