In Magh (January- February) Earthquake, Known as Great Nepal Bihar Earthquake struck the Kingdom of Nepal and it's surrounding areas around 2 pm on the 16th of January. The magnitude of the earthquake was 8.4 on the Richter scale.
Casualty figures were highest for any recorded earthquake in the history of Nepal. In total 8519 people lost their lives in Nepal, A total of 126355 houses were severely damaged and around 80893 buildings were completely destroyed.
In the earthquake relief fund was NRs 206500 inside Kathmandu valley only. Earthquake relief fund was established by the king, loans were provided for earthquake effected people and earthquake volunteers groups were formed.
The History of Disaster Risk Mitigation in Nepal is relatively short compared to the rest of the world. Only in recent times that the people as well as the government have been aware of the potential risk and have been active in disaster risk mitigation. The Udaypur earthquake of 1998 was a major awakening for the country as well as for the people. With 721 people losing their lives, 22 districts affected and the loss of over 5 billion rupees in property damages the risk could not be ignored anymore. 1992 saw the start of the National Building Code Development Project (BCDP) which also involved the future founders of NSET. Nepal also observed the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) Day for the first time.
The History of Disaster Risk Mitigation in Nepal is relatively short compared to the rest of the world. Only in recent times that the people as well as the government have been aware of the potential risk and have been active in disaster risk mitigation. The Udaypur earthquake of 1998 was a major awakening for the country as well as for the people. With 721 people losing their lives, 22 districts affected and the loss of over 5 billion rupees in property damages the risk could not be ignored anymore. 1992 saw the start of the National Building Code Development Project (BCDP) which also involved the future founders of NSET. Nepal also observed the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) Day for the first time.
