The Crisis Response to the Nepal Earthquake: Lessons Learned

The response to the earthquakes in Nepal was among the strongest in history, seen from an international perspective, and given the severity of the calamities. Dozens of countries came to the aid of Nepal, some of them, such as India and Pakistan, within a few short hours. Nonetheless, an unnecessary amount of people were killed, injured or otherwise had their lives permanently altered. This report details many of the challenges experienced by international and Nepalese actors before, during and after the disaster. Here, the main findings are briefly summarized. Overall, three major themes are persistent throughout:

1. Insufficient preparation for a natural disaster of this magnitude,
2. lack of information and dissemination thereof,
3. Lack of effective coordination at all levels of resilience and response.