Up to 60 percent of all houses in quake-hit areas, according to government estimates, have been completely or partially damaged by recent earthquakes. The greater the height of the building, on average, the more damage it has sustained. Most of the tall apartment buildings in Kathmandu valley have become uninhabitable. As a result, the government has just issued a directive that bans new constructions for the next two months and limits under-construction buildings to two stories. In the meantime, outdated building codes will be revised and technicians who gave their stamp of approval to substandard buildings will, the government reassures the skeptical public, be brought to book. These are all stop-gap measures and the final shape of the revised building code is anyone's guess. We certainly hope that the new buildings that will be built in Kathmandu as well as other quake-prone areas will all be earthquake-resistant and all the old ones will be strengthened through retrofitting. This is the least the new building code should ensure. But that will not be enough to make the country more resilient to big earthquakes.
People had to rush to Tundikhel and the golf course at Tribhuvan International Airport after the two big earthquakes as they could not find any open space near their homes. But not everyone could be adjusted in these public spaces. Ironically, most people found it safe to sleep on their ground-floor veranda, often supported by no more than a single cracked pillar, not realizing that doing so was even more dangerous than living inside the main building. The Great Earthquake has cruelly highlighted the need for open spaces in every neighborhood where people can congregate during emergencies. The new building code should provide for such open spaces, and not just for earthquake safety. If every neighborhood had a public park, it would also add life to local communities. It's a tragedy that many people in Kathmandu got to meet their next-door neighbors for the first time when they were all rushing out of their shaking homes on April 25. The greenery and the exercise space public parks offer will entice more people to come out and mingle.
Stray wires and the rickety pylons that support them are areas of concern. The government had taken the initiative to bundle together stray electricity and telephone wires in the main thoroughfares of Kathmandu during the SAARC Summit last November; in many places weak wood pylons were replaced by sturdy iron ones. But the skylines of the inners areas of the valley where most people live are still an eyesore. There are wires everywhere. Many people escaping their homes had no option but to set up their tents under these wires. If the weak pillars supporting them had collapsed, the people living below could have been badly trapped. Many places in Kathmandu are, as such, open booby-traps, disasters waiting to happen. Kathmandu valley and other badly affected areas have to be rebuilt, first and the foremost, to maximize the safety and wellbeing of their inhabitants. Every other concern should be secondary.
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