A series of devastating earthquakes have struck Nepal over the weekend, causing loss of more than 7000 lives. The initial 7.8 magnitude quake, along with aftershocks as high as 6.7 magnitude, caused destruction and severe damage to the historic centre of Kathmandu and other heritage sites throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Quake-related damage has been reported throughout the region.
ICCROM project specialist Aparna Tandon, Rohit Jigyasu of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness – ICORP, and other partners have started the Kathmandu Cultural Emergency Crowdmap, which aims to collect information on the damage caused to cultural heritage sites and institutions in Nepal.
If you are in the area or are in contact with someone who is, use #heritagedamagenepal and #culturedamagenepal to tweet pictures of earthquake affected cultural heritage of Nepal from your mobile. This may include temples, traditional houses, sculptures, sacred objects, etc. If possible indicate their location, either in the text of the tweet or by tagging location. Reports will be made based on your feedback and preparations will be undertaken to salvage heritage even from rubble after the human search and rescue operation is over. The tweet feedback is linked to kathmanduculturalemergency.crowdmap.com
Other sites are also being created and communicated on Twitter and other platforms:
- Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team: 2015 Nepal Earthquake
- Esri Disaster Response Program public information map
- USAID Nepal Earthquake Fact Sheet
- Kathmandu Living Labs
- People’s Association for Himalayan Area Research
- Micromappers
- The Longest Way Home: Guide to Temples & Buildings destroyed in the 2015 Earthquake
Together we will work to restore rich Nepalese cultural heritage. Our hearts go out to all the victims of the quake.
Other ways you can help:
- Support the Red Cross
- CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere)
- Donate to Oxfam’s relief efforts in Nepal
- UNICEF
- Center for Disaster Information
Media reports:
- Nepal earthquake: Kathmandu landmarks before and after quake, in pictures (The Telegraph)
- Nepal Earthquake Destroys Historic Temples (Live Science)
- Open-Source Maps Help Guide Nepalese Earthquake Relief (Hyperallergic)
- The Rich History Of Nepalese Culture, Some Of Which Is Lost Forever (Huffington Post)
- Nepal’s Cultural Heritage Becomes Its Scrap as Human Crisis Takes Priority After Earthquake (New York Times)
- Le patrimoine séculaire exceptionnel du Népal détruit (Le Monde)
- Theft in Kathmandu: Can Nepal’s Cultural Legacy Be Saved? (Newsweek)
- UNESCO to assess the impact on Nepal’s cultural heritage of the devastating earthquake (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
- PHOTOS. Népal: le tremblement de terre ravage aussi des monuments historiques (Le Huffington Post)