Quake destroys houses worth $3.8 billion

KATHMANDU:

Houses worth around $3.8 billion (approximately Rs 388 billion) were destroyed or damaged by the devastating earthquake of April 25 and subsequent aftershocks, preliminary estimate of the government shows.

This estimate is an indication that the total loss caused by the earthquake would stand at well above $5 billion.

The April 25 earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale and numerous other aftershocks, including the one of May 12 measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, have fully damaged 504,775 private houses and partially damaged another 278,659 houses.

“Based on our calculation, losses suffered by the housing sector stand at around $3.8 billion,” a reliable government source told The Himalayan Times, without elaborating. The source, however, said the figure was ‘provisional’ and ‘could change’ in the days to come.

The government is assessing the damage caused by the earthquake to various sectors through an internationally standardised process called Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA).

PDNA will determine the impact of the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks and define a recovery strategy. It will also include funding needs for restoration of livelihoods, and chart out plans to revive the economy and rehabilitate and reconstruct damaged houses and other infrastructure. It will also assess the socio-economic impact of the earthquake and identify priority areas for affected households and critical sectors of the economy.

The PDNA is being conducted by a team led by the National Planning Commission (NPC) in coordination with the United Nations,

the European Union and

the World Bank, among others. It comprises 23 thematic groups, such as housing

and settlements, tourism, agriculture, finance, health and population, nutrition, education, cultural heritage and social protection.

Each of these groups will share initial findings and start writing sectoral report on

June 4. After compiling data provided by all the groups, the PDNA team will come up with draft PDNA report on June 10, which will be finalised on June 15.

The government will present the PDNA report at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction — a donors’ conference being held with a theme ‘Towards Resilience’ — scheduled for June 25. The government is expected to seek financial support from the international community to rebuild the country during the international conference.

Since the earthquake that killed over 8,600 people, the government has announced its decision to set up a reconstruction fund of Rs 200 billion, in which the state would contribute Rs 20 billion.

Source: THT