A Case Report on Damage to School Buildings During the 2015 Nepal Earthquake and Reconstruction Strategy

The 2015 Nepal Earthquake (Mw7.8) affected more than 9,000 schools in the country. Damage distribution in the 14 most-affected administrative districts shows that the construction practices were an important determent for the level of damage extended. Use of improper construction materials, lack of construction supervision, and non-compliance with the existing building codes during design and construction probably contributed to the severe damage of most of the school buildings. Preliminary damage assessment results show that in the most-affected districts, about 86% schools were affected by the earthquake and about one million students were out of their schools for a long time. The damage survey data indicate that about 30% classrooms collapsed, about 13% classrooms sustained major damage, and about 17% classrooms sustained minor damage within the 14 districts. Such evidence of loss and damage in the earthquake disasters provides an opportunity to learn lessons for the future preparedness and to encounter the disaster challenges. Based on the damage analysis data and experience of reconstruction process after the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, this paper highlights the steps to be considered during reconstruction strategy planning for school buildings after an earthquake disaster.