Nepal (official name, Nepāl Adhirājya, Kingdom of Nepal). Constitutional Monarchy of South Asia ; It is bordered to the north by the autonomous region of Tibet, in China, and to the east, south and west by India.
The 25 of April of 2015 occurs the devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake was registered at 06:11 GMT, and its epicenter was located in the Lamjung district 81 kilometers northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, and at a depth of 15 kilometers. The death toll exceeded 8,700 and the total injured 20,000, not including the total missing, which amounted to 273 people, including 80 foreigners. Most of the deceased were concentrated in the districts of Sindhupalchowk, north of the Nepalese capital, and in the administrative district of Kathmandu, while other people died in Nuwakot [1] [2] [3] . The Nepal’s National Emergency Operations Center indicated that the earthquake totally destroyed 10,744 buildings and caused partial damage to 14,741. The number of irrecoverable houses exceeded 191,000, while another 175,000 suffered serious damage [4] . The government estimated that some $ 2 billion would be required for reconstruction. The earthquake caused widespread destruction throughout the country and extensive material damage. A significant part of the most emblematic and historical buildings of the so-called Kathmandu Valley, declared a World Heritage Site, were reduced to rubble.
Main cities
According to programingplease, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is the most populous city, with 741,000 residents (2003). Other prominent urban centers are Lalitpur (162,991 residents), close to Kathmandu; Bharatpur (61,122 residents), also close to the capital; and Biratnagar, in the southeast.
Culture
Religion
The dominant Hindu religion permeates Nepalese culture with some Buddhist influences; pagodas and buildings with carved wooden ornaments can be found throughout Nepal.
Economy
Farming
About 17.4% of the land in Nepal is cultivated, mostly in the Tarai (Terai) region. Grown rice, corn, wheat, potatoes (potatoes), sugar cane, millet, cotton, jute and snuff, and poultry are bred cows, goats, sheep and buffalo.
Forestry and mining
Due to transportation problems, mining has not developed on a large scale. Despite this, certain amounts of lignite and mica are extracted.
Industry
Most of Nepal’s industrial activity is based on the country’s natural resources and agricultural products. Nepal’s main products include cotton textiles, cellulose, paper, building materials, processed food, cigarettes, and footwear.
Transport
Porters and pack animals are still in charge of doing, in many areas, the transport within the country. Of the 17,380 km of roads in Nepal, only 30% are paved. The roads that cross the country and link Kathmandu with Tibet have been completed. Two short railway lines connect Nepal and India. The government runs Royal Nepal Airlines, the national airline; airports are located in Kathmandu and Biratnagar. A 42 km funicular carries goods between Hetauda and Kathmandu.
Communications
Radio Nepal is controlled by the government and broadcasts in Nepalese and English. Nepal publishes 175 daily newspapers, most of which are published in Kathmandu. The Gorkha Patra, published in Kathmandu, is a prestigious newspaper.
Kathmandu
History
King Guna Kama Deva founded the city of Kathmandu in the 8th century (AD 723), on an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage and trade route. In its first years of history the city was under the control of the Newar indigenous people and was known as Kastha-Mandap, which in Sanskrit means ‘temple made of wood’. Around the year 1768, Kathmandu fell under the power of the Gurkha people, who made it their capital until it was subdued by the Rana family who assumed power by occupying the position of prime minister in a hereditary way. Kathmandu was seriously affected by the earthquake of 1933. After the democratic movements of the decade of In 1950, the city was divided into a total of 18 sectors, each of which was governed by a member elected by the Municipal Commission. In 1995, Kathmandu was elevated to the rank of a metropolis and was divided into 25 districts; Each district has its own president, elected by popular vote every five years.
Earthquake 2015
The 25 of April of 2015 occurs the devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale in Nepal. Initially, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) documented the earthquake as a movement of magnitude 7.5 being recategorized as 7.9 and finally 7.8. The earthquake was registered at 06:11 GMT, and its epicenter was located in the Lamjung district 81 kilometers northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, and at a depth of 15 kilometers, but it was also noticeable in India, Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. It was followed by more than 50 aftershocks with magnitudes of 4.6 to 5.1 degrees.
A 6.7 magnitude aftershock occurred at 07:09 GMT 65 kilometers east of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu (23 hours later). It was the largest aftershock, number 31, of the devastating earthquake. The epicenter was found shallow, only 10 kilometers away. The earthquake was followed by another, at 07:26 GMT (20 minutes later), of magnitude 5 whose epicenter was found 10 kilometers deep [5] .
The death toll exceeded 8,700 and the total injured 20,000, not including the total missing, which amounted to 273 people, including 80 foreigners. Most of the deceased were concentrated in the districts of Sindhupalchowk, north of the Nepalese capital, and in the administrative district of Kathmandu, while other people died in Nuwakot [6] [7] . The National Center for Emergency Operations of Nepal indicated that the earthquake totally destroyed 10,744 buildings and partially damaged 14,741. The number of unrecoverable houses exceeded 191,000, while another 175,000 suffered serious damage [8] . The government estimated that some $ 2 billion would be required for reconstruction.
The earthquake caused widespread destruction throughout the country and extensive material damage. A significant part of the most emblematic and historical buildings of the so-called Kathmandu Valley, declared a World Heritage Site, were reduced to rubble. One of the most popular tourist destinations, the city of Kathmandu, lost the Bhimsen Tower, also called Dharahara, the iconic Durbar Square (Palace Square) with several monuments that were there, the Hanuman Dhoka royal palace and the Basantapur palace. The royal palace of the Patan Museum and the Kalmochan Temple were also in ruins. In the historic city of Patan, the Hari Shanker and Uma Maheswar Temples were destroyed [9] [10] .
