
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
At 11:56 a.m. on April 25, 2015, the ground beneath Nepal shook. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake, centered 82 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, released decades of pent-up energy. The capital was in chaos. Ancient temples and palaces that had survived centuries collapsed in seconds. The famous Bhimsen Tower, the symbol of the city, was reduced to rubble, burying dozens of people. Across the country, homes collapsed, roads cracked, and communications with the outside world were cut off. When the dust settled, the horrific scale of the tragedy became clear: more than 8,600 dead and over 22,000 injured in Nepal alone.1It was the most destructive earthquake in the country in the last 80 years.
But for Nepal, seismic activity is only one side of the coin. Every year with the arrival of the monsoons, the country faces another, equally insidious threat: floods and landslides. Torrential rains that lash the Himalayas transform peaceful rivers into raging torrents that sweep away everything in their path. In 2024, for example, the country experienced the heaviest rains in 50 years, killing hundreds. This dual vulnerability is not just bad luck. It is written into Nepal's geography. The country is located on the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. At the same time, its mountainous terrain and climate create ideal conditions for hydrological disasters, which account for almost half of all natural disasters over the past half century.
This stark reality would have broken any nation. But in Nepal, it has become a furnace in which resilience is forged and innovation is born. Faced with existential threats, a new generation of Nepalese engineers, scientists, and ordinary citizens have refused to be passive victims. They have realized that a national trauma like the 2015 earthquake should not be an end, but a beginning – a powerful catalyst that has transformed the country’s approach to risk management. This push accelerated research, forced a rethinking of building codes, and generated the political will to create ambitious defense systems. Today, Nepal is fighting the elements with a unique combination of cutting-edge technology and the centuries-old wisdom of its communities, creating and implementing ingenious early warning systems that are already saving thousands of lives.
At 11:56 a.m. on April 25, 2015, the ground beneath Nepal shook. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake, centered 82 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, released decades of pent-up energy. The capital was in chaos. Ancient temples and palaces that had survived centuries collapsed in seconds. The famous Bhimsen Tower, the symbol of the city, was reduced to rubble, burying dozens of people. Across the country, homes collapsed, roads cracked, and communications with the outside world were cut off. When the dust settled, the horrific scale of the tragedy became clear: more than 8,600 dead and over 22,000 injured in Nepal alone.1It was the most destructive earthquake in the country in the last 80 years.
But for Nepal, seismic activity is only one side of the coin. Every year with the arrival of the monsoons, the country faces another, equally insidious threat: floods and landslides. Torrential rains that lash the Himalayas transform peaceful rivers into raging torrents that sweep away everything in their path. In 2024, for example, the country experienced the heaviest rains in 50 years, killing hundreds. This dual vulnerability is not just bad luck. It is written into Nepal's geography. The country is located on the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. At the same time, its mountainous terrain and climate create ideal conditions for hydrological disasters, which account for almost half of all natural disasters over the past half century.
This stark reality would have broken any nation. But in Nepal, it has become a furnace in which resilience is forged and innovation is born. Faced with existential threats, a new generation of Nepalese engineers, scientists, and ordinary citizens have refused to be passive victims. They have realized that a national trauma like the 2015 earthquake should not be an end, but a beginning – a powerful catalyst that has transformed the country’s approach to risk management. This push accelerated research, forced a rethinking of building codes, and generated the political will to create ambitious defense systems. Today, Nepal is fighting the elements with a unique combination of cutting-edge technology and the centuries-old wisdom of its communities, creating and implementing ingenious early warning systems that are already saving thousands of lives.