WHO Nepal Earthquake Response
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Download document Emergency preparedness pays off as Kathmandu hospitals respond to earthquakes
The earthquakes and the continuing aftershocks in Nepal highlight the importance of the efforts the Ministry of Health and Population and WHO have had in place for more than a decade to ensure key hospitals, health facilities and health workers would be ready and able to function well in an emergency or natural disaster.
The first earthquake on 25 April measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale and the second on 12 May measuring 7.3 failed to disrupt services at Kathmandu’s largest public hospitals, including Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Patan Hospital, Civil Service Hospital, Birendra Army Hospital and the trauma centre at Bir Hospital. As of today, more than 8200 people are reported to have been killed in the earthquakes and over 19 000 injured. In Nepal, hospital retrofitting, which involves everything from repairing cracks in walls to installing seismic belts and roof bracing, has been a core part of preparedness plans. “Retrofitting meant that when the earthquakes struck the hospitals did not collapse,” said Dr Roderico Ofrin, WHO’s Health Response Leader. “It is clear that the investment in time and resources paid off.”