Back to news
8 May 2015 | News

ICIMOD maps earthquake-affected settlements to aid relief and recovery efforts

1 min Read

70% Complete

Responding to a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs, ICIMOD has deployed a task force made up of GIS and remote sensing experts to map clusters of settlements in earthquake-affected areas. These maps are being used to aid in the deployment of relief materials to affected areas in need of urgent relief.

The team, based out of the ICIMOD headquarters, is using remote sensing imagery on Google Earth to identify and mapping clusters of settlements in earthquake-affected areas. The maps produced are being shared with the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) within the Ministry of Home Affairs as they are completed.

The settlement maps are available for download as .kml files, which can be opened in Google Earth.

The polygons on the maps indicate clusters of buildings across different districts; however, they do not indicate the type of building or the density of settlements. Proper field verification of the settlements still needs to be carried out, but these maps can be used a preliminary indication of the location of settlements in remote, earthquake-affected areas.

The team of experts has identified settlement clusters for eight of the thirteen earthquake-affected districts as requested by the government – Dhading, Dolakha, Kavrepalanchowk, Gorkha, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Sindupalchowk, and Lamjung.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

related contents

Continue exploring this topic

6 Mar 2015 News
ICIMOD Engages with the Corporate Sector for Sustainable Ecosystem Goods and Services

The overarching objective of the joint workshop was to create a platform for the ...

14 Dec 2017 Atmosphere Initiative
HKH Features at UNFCCC COP 23

During another side event on 7 November, representatives from the two ends of the geographical spectrum, the small islands and ...

28 May 2015 News
Below normal rainfall most likely in South Asia this year, say experts

This year the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (SASCOF) has predicted that below normal rainfall is most likely ...

12 May 2022 News
Request for proposals: Consultancy service to scope and provide recommendations to support the development of a Mountains of Opportunity Investment Framework (MOIF) for the Hindu Kush Himalaya

About ICIMOD The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) seeks to enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved ...

30 Jul 2015 News
Using tablets for real-time data collection

Socio-economic data collection through household surveys need huge investment in time, human resource, and cost. When one of these is ...

4 May 2016 News
REDD+ Gorkha International TV coverage

At the request of Deutsche Welle (DW) television service, a team from ICIMOD and DW, travelled to Ludhi Khola watershed in Gorkha, ...

30 Nov 2015 News
Training for Partners in Bhutan

A three-day training for Bhutanese partners on vulnerability assessment was conducted ...

20 Jun 2017 Himalica
Himalica Contributes to the Local 12th Five-Year Plan for Tsirang, Bhutan

BOX 1: Climate-resilient technologies and good practices identfied from the Himalica Pilot site in Barshong for local 12th ...