Was Nepal prepared for a major earthquake?

The international community is responding to the disaster in one of the world’s poorest nation. It’s a land steeped in rich history and traditions, myths and legends, and best known as home to Mount Everest.

But Nepal is also one of the poorest countries in the world, and now struggling to cope with the worst quake to hit the Himalayan nation in 80 years.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck just before noon local time on Saturday, some 80 kilometres northwest of the capital Kathmandu.

It’s an area the US Geological Survey calls one of the most seismically hazardous on earth.

It was strong enough to be felt across northern India, Bangladesh, the Chinese region of Tibet and Pakistan.

Multiple aftershocks have followed, the most powerful registered at magnitude 6.7, with a death toll climbing into the thousands.

Search and rescue teams, and aid groups from around the world are responding to the disaster.

But the tragedy has exposed Nepal’s lack of proper roads and facilities.

It’s raising questions about whether the impoverished country was prepared for the worst, and whether there could have been a warning?

Presenter: Jane Dutton

Guests:

Jamie McGoldrick, UN Resident Co-ordinator for Nepal.

Jagan Chabagain, Asia Pacific Regional Director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Ian Watkinson, Regional Tectonics Analyst, Royal Holloway, University of London.