Nepal marks 10-year anniversary of earthquake that killed thousands

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal marked the 10th anniversary of the devastating 2015 earthquake with a memorial service on Friday that was attended by top officials who pledged to be better prepared to face future disasters.

At exactly 11:56 a.m., which was the time of the earthquake on April 25, 2015, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, top ministers, officials and diplomats stood up and held a minute of silence in memory of those killed at the site of a tower that collapsed and crushed 180 people.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed early 9,000 people, wounded more than 22,000 and damaged some 1 million houses and buildings.

“There was a huge loss of both lives and property then but were able to successfully recover and reconstruct.” Oli said. “Nepal has shown resilience.”

Oli was joined by ministers and diplomats from countries helped Nepal with rescue, recovery and later reconstruction efforts to light candles in memory of the lives that were lost in the disaster.

“We could not have done all that just by ourselves,” Oli said. “We want to thank all our partner nations and agencies for their support.”

Some 80% of structures that were damaged by the earthquake have been rebuilt, with almost all schools and public buildings upgraded to new safety standards, according to Anil Pokhrel, who headed the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority for years until he retired last month.

As many as 95% of houses damaged in the rural areas have been rebuilt, while there is less in urban areas mainly due to issues like disputes over ownership or rebuilding plans.

Families were given $3,000 to reconstruct their homes and offices were set up by the government in all the districts that were staffed with engineers and experts to help them rebuild.

“Nepal’s reconstruction, given the time, given the scale, given the process it went through and working with development partners, it is really considered as one of the exemplary reconstruction and recovery experiences,” Pokhrel said.