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A Retrospective Analysis of Mortality From 2015 Gorkha Earthquakes of Nepal: Evidence and Future Recommendations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Bipin Adhikari Open the ORCID record for Bipin Adhikari [Opens in a new window] ,
Parash Mani Bhandari ,
Dipika Neupane  and
Shiva Raj Mishra
Bipin Adhikari*
Affiliation:
Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Nepal Community Health and Development Centre, Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal
Parash Mani Bhandari
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC
Dipika Neupane
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC
Shiva Raj Mishra
Affiliation:
Nepal Development Society, Bhratpur-10, Nepal
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Bipin Adhikari, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SY, UK (e-mail: biopion@gmail.com).
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Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to explore the mortality pattern due to Gorkha earthquakes in 2015 and review the response and recovery efforts immediately following the earthquakes.

Methods:

Data from published reports of the Nepal Police showed over 8000 deaths. These death counts were categorized by gender, ethnicity, and age groups (interval of 5 years). The mortality rate was calculated (per 100 000 population), using the projected population as the denominator as of April 2015.

Results:

Children < 10 years and older adults > 55 years showed a higher rate of deaths, with similar trends for the most affected districts. Almost 8 more females’ deaths were reported per 100 000 population compared with their male counterparts. There was a higher death rate from Province 3 with a notable gender difference: Nearly 20 more females’ deaths were reported per 100 000 population compared with their male counterparts. There was a higher death rate in mountains (542.4 per 100 000) compared with hills (55.0 per 100 000) and the southern Terai region (0.96 per 100 000) of Nepal.

Conclusions:

Young and older adults, female, and residents of remote, mountainous regions of Nepal were vulnerable to the earthquakes. Future earthquake preparedness should focus on the vulnerable population by age and gender and the geographical accessibility.

Keywords

earthquakesmortalityNepalpopulationpreparednessvulnerability
Type
Report from the Field
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 127 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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