| 1 |
 |
Page 6
“...which the name for the Khumjung VDC
originates) and Khunde villages immediately after the first
earthquake. He reported that out of 178 houses, 23 were
fully damaged, 50 had damaged walls, 65 had minor damage,
and 40 had cracks in the house (GHF website accessed on
May 9, 2017). After local consultation, and on-foot survey,
I found that in five out of nine Chaurikharka VDC wards
(1,3,5,6, and 9), out of 372 households in these wards, 130
houses were severely damaged (unusable without major
reconstruction), 24 were moderately damaged (unsafe
to live in), and 81 had minor damages (required repairs).
During our visit, I also found that the entire village of
Jorsalle had to relocate to Monzo until their homes were
repaired. In Jorsalle (a village that is locally known as
Thumbuk), the earthquake had severely damaged every
residential house. One man died instantly from a rock that
came rolling from the steep slopes above the village during
the earthquake. Monzo, which sits higher up than Jorsalle...”
|
|
| 2 |
 |
Page 7
“...mentioned in her progress report focused on
the foundation’s earthquake recovery projects that one
of the biggest challenges they faced was transporting
construction materials to the project sites in Khumbu
(SEHF website accessed on May 14, 2017). These materi-
als needed to be flown in to the nearest airport and then
carried to the project site, which significantly increased
costs and the time needed to begin rebuilding. The short
seasonal window for construction also hindered the pace
of reconstruction. Lack of qualified local engineers to build
earthquake-resistant structures further detracted from
these efforts. Yangji Dorna Sherpa emphasized that living
in temporary shelters in the harsh mountain climate was
difficult. Therefore, villagers had no alternative but to
rebuild their homes. They did not wait for governmental
assistance because it was not certain when it would arrive;
and even if it did arrive in time, the government allocated
assistance funds would not have been sufficient...”
|
|
| 3 |
 |
Page 9
“...14 districts with this classification.
There have been allegations that this is a result
of pressure on the government from the tourism
lobby, fearful that this categorization would fright-
en away tourists. Although the intention of this
may be good, it does come with significant costs to
Solukhumbu earthquake victims—both within the
Everest region and in the lower non-tourist areas.
This lack of recognition of the impact makes the
area ineligible for many types of large-scale relief
and reconstruction aid. (Sherpa 2015)
The case of devastation in Solukhumbu, and particularly
in the Mount Everest region, faded from national atten-
tion soon after the Miyamoto report. In a public event in
Kathmandu later that summer, a senior governmental
representative warned that any negative light on the
Everest region’s tourism industry would be a disservice to
the country. The audience was even alerted that it would
be anti-national.
Today, the number of tourists’ arrival in the Everest region
continues...”
|
|
