Nepal is exposed to a variety of natural hazards and human induced disasters. More than 80 percent of the total population of Nepal is at risk from natural hazards, such as floods, landslides, windstorms, hailstorms, fires, earthquakes and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). The country is among the 20 most disaster-prone countries in the world. In part, this is because Nepal is in a seismically active zone with a high probability for massive earthquake. Globally, Nepal ranks 4th and 11th in terms of its relative vulnerability to climate change and earthquakes, respectively (Maplecroft 2011, BCPR 2004 cited in MoHA 2015). Out of 21 cities around the world that lie in similar seismic hazard zones, Kathmandu city is at highest risk in terms of impact on people.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Nepal Government has been producing biennial disaster reports (Nepal Disaster Report – NDR) since 2009 with support from different development partners and stakeholders such as UNDP, Disaster Preparedness Network (DPNet-Nepal), Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) and others. The published series of NDRs includes NDR 2009, NDR 2011, NDR 2013 and NDR 2015. The publication of NDR 2017 has been a joint initiative between MoHA, UNDP and DPNet-Nepal.
The main purpose of NDR 2017 is to highlight Nepal’s experiences in DRM over the last two years (2015 and 2016), documenting key learnings and challenges in the course of managing disaster risk and identifying future priority actions for effective disaster response, risk reduction and recovery.
Data for the report was collected and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Key documents (published and unpublished) on DRR and CCA were obtained from relevant ministries and departments, development partner organizations and academic institutions working on disaster risk management issues. This was complemented by open access online documents retrieved mostly from the worldwide web and interactions held with disaster risk management professionals. The NDR has also compiled information on loss of lives, damage of houses, disappearance of people and injury from various disaster events that happened in Nepal during the period of the review.