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Nepal earthquake activities

For key stages 3–4 (can be adapted for KS2)

1] Describe the geography of Nepal shown in each of the three following photos

a. Write down the first three words you think of to describe the type of landscape in each of thephotos.

b. Discuss these with your partner/class to produce a word bank or word mat.

c. Now think how a geographer might describe what is shown. A geographer might describe aspectssuch as relief, climate, communications, infrastructure, farming and settlement building. Add theseterms to your word bank.

c. Using your word bank or mat write a short paragraph to describe Nepal’s physical geography asshown in terms of altitude, slopes and physical features.

d. Look at the photos again. What implications does this landscape have on the people who livehere? Think about communications, infrastructure, farming and settlement building.

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2] Look at the first picture of Scenes from Nepal? (Montage below)

a. What do you think the country is like?b. Write a sentence for each impression you have.c. Look at the photos below. What damage can you see?d. Look at the photos in more detail. What else do you see?

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e. What has happened to the people in the photo below? How have their circumstanceschanged?

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3] The photo below shows a school destroyed by the earthquake.

a. Imagine you are the teacher. Write a two short paragraph report to the education board, toinclude:

In the first paragraph describe the damage caused by the earthquake. In the second say what is left, what is needed for repair and the effect delay to supply this

may have on the students.

b. Remember how important education is to children.

Either: Write a short dialogue between two village students describing their feelings Or imagine you were the student and write down a description of your feelings.

c. Prepare a short statement for the Local education representative to read on the evening news,imagining your school (in Nepal) has just collapsed.

Think what they would say about their feelings, the current situation and the authority’sactions.

d. How would a UK student reaction and future outlook differ from that of a Nepalese student?

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4] The photos above show earthquake damage and destruction.

Kenneth Maswabi has written a poem to describe his emotional response:

A trail of destruction produced

A path of misery excavated

A well of tears uncovered

A moment of despair unleashed

A chronicle of death published

A glorious day ruined

An avalanche of sadness triggered

A call for help broadcasted

a. Look at each of the lines in the poem and write down at least six things that have beendamaged or triggered by the earthquake. It could be a small thing like a tool, school benchor someone’s smile or something bigger like a dust cloud or something affecting a wholevillage.

b. Write a list type poem to describe the impact of the earthquake.

You could use Kenneth’s writing style to describe the impact the disaster has had on an individual orcommunity, e.g.:

A school collapsed.

A child’s education lost.

A harvest destroyed.

A hungry stomach unfed...

c. Try changing the words until you get the feel you want and then add future consequences;A school collapsed,A child’s education lost, an illiterate future,A harvest store destroyed,A hungry stomach unfed, too weak to grow...

(Teachers may wish to develop the PEE type structure more fully and explicitly for moremature students by, for example, using measures of development)

4. Study the photos in this document that show building damage caused by the earthquake.a. Make a list of the materials used by the Nepalese for their buildings.b. Put your list in order, the materials which stood up to the earthquake best at the top, andthe weakest at the bottom.c. Justify by giving reasons for your choice.

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d. Annotate the photo below in as much detail as you can to show the damage caused andits implications for the farming householder.(Alternatively use these labels to annotate the photo, add any of your own)Building unsafe and can no longer be used for shelter.Soft building stone and mortar pulverised to dust.Large stones fallenAnimal food store in loft exposed to the weather and degraded by dustTools damaged and buried in rubbleCorrugated metal roof buckled, ripped and broken.All household articles and necessities buried and lost in rubbleAid organisations can only provide a tarpaulin for shelter.

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5] Read the account by Dr. Pohl, Phase Worldwide medical co-coordinator

Dear friends

Across the PHASE community we are saddened by the news from Nepal. Yesterday a powerful 7.8magnitude earthquake caused devastation in many areas of the country. It is the nation’s worstearthquake in 80 years and it has already claimed thousands of lives. The aftershocks arecontinuing and there was a second earthquake this afternoon. We have now heard from all PHASEstaff and can report that none of them were killed or seriously injured. We are encouraging allPHASE staff to stay where they are until the aftershocks reduce. Many of our staff are sleeping inthe open due to building damage and fear of aftershocks, and many of their families have beenaffected by the earthquake.

The true scale of the destruction in remote areas will not be clear for weeks.

Two of our project areas; Gorkha (where PHASE have worked since 2009) and Sindhulpalchok(where PHASE have worked since 2006) are among the most severely affected regions. Thedevastation is unimaginable. People have lost everything; lives have been lost, their homes havecollapsed, they have limited food or equipment to prepare food and much of their livestock hasbeen killed. Dr Gerda Pohl, PHASE medical co-coordinator and Trustee was on her way to a healthpost in Sindhulpalchok when the earthquake struck.

She reports: “We were on our way to Fulpingkot village when the earthquake began and therewere huge rocks coming past us. Suddenly there was a massive dust cloud over the market townbelow and many people were screaming.

After the shaking had stopped we continued on to the health post and over the next few hourshelped to treat several children with severe head injuries. After the shaking had stopped wecontinued on to the health post and over the next few hours helped to treat several casualties. Wesaw lots of cuts and grazes and some deep cuts that needed suturing – mostly head wounds, andseveral children – but very few broken bones. We walked past many houses that had beendestroyed; there were many dead and people were helping each other to rescue those trappedunder buildings.

Dr Gerda treating injured in Sindhulpalchok

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We slept outside on Saturday night with the PHASE staff and discussed with them on Sundaymorning if they wanted to remain at the health post. They decided they should stay to continue toprovide emergency care during the disaster, although they were upset when we left and we wereupset to leave them. The family our staff live with are looking after them as if they were their owndaughters.

The house where the staff were living in Fulpingkot

The quake hit on a Saturday lunchtime, when most people had finished their morning meal andwere out in the fields working or playing. If it had been at night, the number of dead would havebeen much higher. Just 15 minutes after the quake, while we were still sitting in an open space witha few villagers, waiting for the aftershocks to subside, there was someone crying out that theycould hear a child in one of the damaged houses – one of the women we were sitting with had beenworrying that she didn’t know where her youngest son was. A few men immediately went toexplore and – at great danger to themselves, entered the house – a boy about 2 years old wastrapped underneath a beam – miraculously, they managed to get him out totally unhurt, apartfrom a few scrapes and bruises.

Travelling back to Kathmandu was my first experience of travelling through a disaster zone and itwas eerily quiet when we reached the capital. We are currently trying to assess what support ourstaff need with a view to keeping our health posts in the field open to respond to the significant andimmediate medical need. We are also working to ensure our staff have access to shelter, food andsafe drinking water to reduce the risk to their well being over the coming days. This will meanmobilising support by helicopter as there is no practicable road access to our Gorkha andSindhupalchok project areas. We will then start to formulate a longer term response incoordination with other agencies.

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5b] Imagine you were in Sindhulpalchok and Fulpingkot, then Kathmandu during and after theearthquake. Write your own earthquake diary.

Use this checklist to help: What did you feel as the quake struck, what did you see and hearand taste? How was your breathing? What happened immediately after the quake? Whathappened to the buildings and the people? What were they doing? What were their lossesand their injuries? How could you help?

Make sure you are geographically accurate in your details

6] Phase Worldwide

Phase Worldwide is a charity providing agricultural training, medical aid and education, food etc. forpeople in remote areas.

a. Study the map of the areas in Nepal where PHASE is working:

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Label the capital Kathmandu and mark the location of the countries, India and China.

b. Compare the areas in which PHASE is working to the places effected by earthquakes in April 2015.Note - you will need to locate /sweep to the Nepal area of the map and enlarge the area.

c. Look at the aerial photo showing the before and after earthquake views of Kathmandu city on thiswebpage.

7] Create a newspaper front page about the Nepal Earthquake.

Write about the damage caused, the affect this has had on the people and the efforts being made tohelp them.

Include a hard-hitting headline, and use three images from this document (or others taken of theNepal earthquake) and construct your text around them. Include quotes from local residents, theNepalese government and aid agencies. Include the five W’s (who, where, when, what, why andhow)

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8] Aid agency activity

Phase Worldwide works in areas of the world where people have the greatest needs and little otheroffers of help. Phase Worldwide provides practical help toward self empowerment and selfsufficiency.

a. Read PHASE’s current statement below from their website:

Nepal is very close to the hearts of PHASE supporters and the communities we work with need usnow more than ever. The situation is critical – PHASE is running an emergency appeal to offeressential support where we can – please donate now to support our staff and communities inNepal who have been affected.Donate Now or text PHAS01 followed by the amount you would like to donate – eg. £20, £10 – to70070.Please share this information with friends, family and colleagues who may wish to help. If you wouldlike to support the fundraising efforts in any other way please contact Sarahon sarah@phaseworldwide.orgWe will continue to update Facebook, Twitter (@phaseworldwide)and our website as we receive more information.In friendship,Jiban, Gerda, Sarah and the PHASE Team

b. In pairs decide the best two points about this statement/request for aid and two of theworst points.

c. PHASE is going to need much more money to rebuild its bases in Sinhulpalchok region inNepal.

Create a poster for Phase Worldwide to encourage people to donate money toward their workin Nepal after the earthquake.

Your poster should be eye catching and effective in raising money, use persuasive languageand photos.

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9] BBC documentary

The BBC is planning a follow up documentary about the Earthquake in Nepal

Look at the photos on pages 9–10, for each think of three questions you would like to ask to find outmore about what is happening.

Plan a six-part story board for your documentary based on:

i. The background information you need for your introductionii. The four pictures (perhaps from this document) you think are most important to talk about

to inform and instruct the British Public about the situation in Nepal. Think carefully aboutthe ordering of the ‘scenes’ so that they flow logically from one to the next.

iii. A summary of the current situation based on internet research. Click here to findrecommended links

Think of the order you are going to present this information.

Extension

In a group compare your story boards and use the best ideas to create a slide show presentationwith a script to deliver to the class using the most up-to-date information you can find.