AN EARTHQUAKE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF ASAN TO INDRACHOWK SETTLEMENTS OF THE CITY CORE OF KATHMANDU
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55766/sujst10346Keywords:
Cultural Vulnerability, Earthquake Vulnerability, Kathmandu City Core, Physical Vulnerability, Social VulnerabilityAbstract
Nepal, a South Asian Himalayan country, is particularly vulnerable to earthquake disasters due to its young geology, hilly terrain, and widespread non-engineered infrastructures. The country exhibits significant physical and cultural diversity in terms of geology, altitude, and location. Social and cultural activities were virtually prohibited for many years following the earthquake; the physical damage from past earthquakes was less severe than anticipated in comparison to the social and cultural consequences. Based on the study, this research proposes a tripartite mitigation framework for physical, social and cultural vulnerability of the Asan to Indrachowk settlements in Kathmandu’s city core, an area critical for its socio-cultural and economic significance, employing mixed-methods analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The pragmatism/mixed method has been employed to find composite vulnerability. Physical vulnerabilities arise from non-engineered, high-rise buildings, social vulnerabilities from limited community resources, and cultural vulnerabilities from the erosion of traditional practices. The research outcome revealed physical (63.25%, extreme), social (41.3%, highly) and cultural (44.15%, highly) vulnerable. The composite vulnerability score of 57.23% indicates extreme vulnerability, necessitating urgent retrofitting and cultural preservation measures.
References
Ainuddin, S., & Routray, J. K. (2012). Earthquake hazards and community resilience in Baluchistan. Natural Hazards, 63(2), 909-937. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0201-x
Bothara, J., Dizhur, D., Dhakal, R., & Ingham, J. (2018). From the 1988 Udaypur to the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal and beyond. New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering.
Bozorgnia, Y., & Bertero, V. V. (Eds.). (2004). Earthquake engineering: From engineering seismology to performance-based engineering. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203486245
Caputo, R., & Pavlides, S. (2008). Earthquake geology: Methods and applications-Preface. Tectonophysics, 453(1-4), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2008.01.007
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). (2012). National population and housing census 2011. Government of Nepal.
Chandradhara, G. P. (2018). Introduction to earthquake engineering. JSS Science and Technology University.
Coningham, R. A. E., Schmidt, A. R., & Strickland, K. M. (2011). A cultural and environmental monitoring of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lumbini, Nepal. Ancient Nepal, 176, 1-8.
Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), 100. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-100
Gautam, D. (2017). Assessment of social vulnerability to natural hazards in Nepal. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 17(12), 2313-2320. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-2313-2017
Gautam, D., Thapa, S., Pokhrel, S., & Lamichhane, S. (2021). Local level multi-hazard zonation of Nepal. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 12(1), 405-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2021.1879941
Gellner, D. N. (1986). Language, caste, religion and territory: Newar identity ancient and modern. European Journal of Sociology, 27(1), 102-148. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003975600004549
Giupponi, C., Mojtahed, V., Gain, A. K., Biscaro, C., & Balbi, S. (2015). Integrated risk assessment of water-related disasters. In J. F. Shroder, P. Paron, & G. Di Baldassarre (Eds.), Hydro-meteorological hazards, risks and disasters (pp. 163-200). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394846-5.00006-0
Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage Publications.
Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA). (2016). A photo-compiled report on cultural heritages of Nepal: Before and after the major earthquake in 2015.
International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ISCRP). (2015). Report of the Nepal cultural emergency crowd map initiative.
Japan International Cooperation Agency, & Ministry of Home Affairs. (2002). The study on earthquake disaster mitigation in the Kathmandu Valley.
Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). (2010). Risk sensitive land use plan: Final report, Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee (KVTDC). (2002). Vision 2035 and beyond: 20 years strategic development master plan (2015-2035) for Kathmandu Valley.
Khatakho, R., Gautam, D., Aryal, K. R., Pandey, V. P., Rupakhety, R., Lamichhane, S., Liu, Y.-C., Abdouli, K., Talchabhadel, R., Thapa, B. R., & Adhikari, R. (2021). Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Sustainability, 13(10), 5369. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105369
Kothari, C. R. (2010). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International Publishers.
Kr, S., & Chourasia, A. (2007). Methodology for seismic vulnerability assessment of building stock in mega cities.
Lewis, T. T. (1993). Newar-Tibetan trade and the domestication of the Simhalasārthabāhu Avadāna. History of Religions, 33(2), 135-160. https://doi.org/10.1086/463361
Lewis, T. T. (1995). Buddhist merchants in Kathmandu: The Asan Twah market and Uray social organization. In D. N. Gellner & D. Quigley (Eds.), Contested hierarchies: A collaborative ethnography of caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley (pp. 38-79). Clarendon Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198279600.003.0002
Manandhar, S., Hino, T., Soralump, S., & Francis, M. (2016). Damages and causative factors of 2015 strong Nepal earthquake and directional movements of infrastructures in the Kathmandu Basin and along the Araniko Highway. Lowland Technology International, 18(2), 141-164.
Marahatta, P. S. (2012). Community-based approach to reduce earthquake vulnerability in Kathmandu Valley. Indonesian Journal of Geography, 44(2), 161-172. https://doi.org/10.22146/ijg.2398
Matsumoto, D. (2007). Culture, context, and behavior. Journal of Personality, 75(6), 1285-1320. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00476.x
Ministry of Home Affairs. (2015). Earthquake in Gorkha. Government of Nepal.
Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). (2015). National urban development strategy (NUDS).
Moret, W. (2014). Vulnerability assessment methodologies: A review of the literature.
Mustafa, D., Ahmed, S., Saroch, E., & Bell, H. (2011). Pinning down vulnerability: From narratives to numbers. Disasters, 35(1), 62-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2010.01193.x
National Planning Commission (NPC). (2016a). Post disaster need assessment (Vol. A, Key findings). Government of Nepal.
National Planning Commission (NPC). (2016b). Post disaster need assessment (Vol. B, Key findings). Government of Nepal.
Nepali, G. S. (1965). The Newars: An ethno-sociological study of a Himalayan community. United Asia Publications.
Pokharel, J. (1994). Identity and synthesis of Nepali architecture (Doctoral dissertation). University of York.
Pokharel, J. (2003). Reconstruction of Maya Devi Temple on the birth spot of Buddha. Institute of Engineering Consultancy Service.
Rana, B. S. (2013). The great earthquake in Nepal. Ratnapustak Bhandar.
Regnault, A., Willgoss, T., & Barbic, S. (2018). Towards the use of mixed methods inquiry as best practice in health outcomes research. Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes, 2(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-018-0043-8
Saaty, T. L. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. International Journal of Services Sciences, 1(1), 83-98. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSCI.2008.017590
Shrestha, B. G. (1998). The Newars: The indigenous population of the Kathmandu Valley in the modern state of Nepal. Newah Vijñana: The Journal of Newar Studies.
Shrestha, B. K. (2011). Street typology in Kathmandu and street transformation. Urbani Izziv, 22(2), 107-121.
Shrestha, B. K., & Shrestha, S. (2009). Transformation of traditional building stocks in the historic core of Kathmandu. Protibesh: Environment, Journal of the Department of Architecture, 13(1), 5-16.
Shrestha, C. B., & Vaidya, K. L. (1978). Settlement patterns in Kathmandu Valley. The Himalayan Review, 10, 13-20.
Shrestha, S. (2021). Managing urbanization in Nepal: Challenges and choices.
Singh, B., & Keitsch, M. (2014). Cultural sustainability and the negotiation of public space: The case of Indrachowk Square, Kathmandu, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Development, 7(3), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v7n3p129
Thapa, R. B., & Murayama, Y. (2010). Drivers of urban growth in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Applied Geography, 30, 70-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2009.10.002
Thapa, R. B., Murayama, Y., & Ale, S. (2008). City profile Kathmandu. Cities, 25, 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2007.10.001
Tiwari, S. R. (1989). Tiered temples of Nepal (2nd ed.).
Vicente, R., Parodi, S., Lagomarsino, S., Varum, H., & Mendes Silva, R. (2008). Seismic vulnerability assessment, damage scenarios and loss estimation: Case study of the old city centre of Coimbra, Portugal.
Wehbe, F., & Baroud, H. (2024). Limitations and considerations of using composite indicators to measure vulnerability to natural hazards. Scientific Reports, 14, 19333. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-68060-z
World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia. (2016). Nepal earthquake 2015: An insight into risks, a vision for resilience.
