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Progress after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake: Evidence from Two Household Surveys in One of the Hardest-Hit Mountain Villages

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  • Jeet Bahadur Sapkota

    (School of International Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya 662-8501, Japan)

  • Kyosuke Kurita

    (School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya 662-8501, Japan)

  • Pramila Neupane

    (University Education Center, Gunma University, Maebashi 371-8510, Japan)

Abstract

Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April 2015, followed by numerous aftershocks, including a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on 26 April and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on 12 May. Using two household surveys of a panel of 377 households conducted in February 2016 and March 2020 in one of the hardest-hit mountain villages, we found that most of the households recovered well, having better housing, increased income, improved awareness about disaster risk, and better infrastructure facilities than before the earthquake. Notably, the poverty headcount index reduced by 16% from 2016 to 2020, and more than 90% of the households reconstructed into earthquake-resistant houses with financial and technical support, mainly, from the government. The village has increased the quality and length of rural roads; there is also wider coverage of clean water supply and better functioning school buildings and hospitals. Similarly, the subjective well-being of the people, gauged using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), has also increased. These aspects combined indicate improved community resilience and the sustainable development of the village. However, the progress differs significantly across gender, caste/ethnic as well as income groups, which calls for inclusive reconstruction and recovery policies as well as disaster risk reduction (DRR) frameworks at a local level to contribute to community resilience and sustainable mountain development.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeet Bahadur Sapkota & Kyosuke Kurita & Pramila Neupane, 2021. "Progress after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake: Evidence from Two Household Surveys in One of the Hardest-Hit Mountain Villages," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11677-:d:662234
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ivan Townshend & Olu Awosoga & Judith Kulig & HaiYan Fan, 2015. "Social cohesion and resilience across communities that have experienced a disaster," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(2), pages 913-938, March.
    2. Jeet Bahadur Sapkota, 2018. "Access to infrastructure and human well-being: evidence from rural Nepal," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 182-194, February.
    3. Tachibana, Towa & Goto, Rie & Sakurai, Takeshi & Rayamajhi, Santosh & Adhikari, Angel & Dow, William H., 2019. "Do remittances alleviate negative impacts of disaster on mental health? A case of the 2015 Nepal earthquake," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Sapkota, Jeet Bahadur, 2018. "Human well-being after 2015 Nepal earthquake: micro-evidence from one of the hardest hit rural villages," MPRA Paper 106096, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Aitor Calo-Blanco & Jaromír Kovářík & Friederike Mengel & José Gabriel Romero, 2017. "Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, June.
    6. Dinesh Paudel & Katharine Rankin & Philippe Le Billon, 2020. "Lucrative Disaster: Financialization, Accumulation and Postearthquake Reconstruction in Nepal," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 96(2), pages 137-160, March.
    7. Fabrizio Terenzio Gizzi & Jonghun Kam & Donatella Porrini, 2020. "Time windows of opportunities to fight earthquake under-insurance: evidence from Google Trends," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, December.
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    1. Ghanshyam Gautam & Saugat Pratap KC & Bikram Adhikari & Sushil Chandra Baral, 2023. "Navigating Nepal’s development trajectory: The road to graduation from the LDC status and beyond," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(8), pages 721-726, December.

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