• Question: if you have experienced a earth quake has it caused any problems with your work and thanks for your time

    Asked by anoa536howe33 to Stuart Dunning, Lauren R, George F on 14 Nov 2025.
    • Photo: George Foden

      George Foden answered on 7 Nov 2025:

      I have not directly experienced an earthquake, but have supported the response to several through my work with the humanitarian sector. By far the biggest was the 2015 Nepal earthquake, which destroyed over 800,000 houses. The biggest challenge in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake like that is finding space for the displaced families to access shelter, food, and water.

      In the reconstruction phase, there are many problems to address, such as how do you find the right building materials and construction techniques to rebuild homes in a way that makes them more resilient to potential future earthquakes, and is also culturally acceptable to the families who will be living in them. Sometimes these two challenges are at odds with each other, and so humanitarian practitioners have to make decisions about how to prioritise funding and resources in ways that don’t always work for the affected community.

      That’s why it’s vital to make sure that the affected population takes the lead in their own reconstruction and recovery efforts, and the humanitarian sector actors support where they can without commandeering the response.

    • Photo: Lauren Rawlins

      Lauren Rawlins answered on 11 Nov 2025:

      I have experienced an earthquake, but it was actually whilst I was holidaying in Iceland in 2023 (magnitude 5.4 before the volcanic eruption near Grindavik). So, as of yet, I have not experienced an earthquake whilst working.

      I have, however, been to places which have been affected by earthquakes, including Kathmandu which was affected by the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Even today they are still rebuilding areas

    • Photo: Stuart Dunning

      Stuart Dunning answered on 14 Nov 2025:

      It’s the reverse for me, I work on landslides often caused by earthquakes, so they are one of the reasons for my job, awful as that is. I have been in Pakistan and New Zealand during small earthquakes, scary. I go to try and work out the damage, and, what might happen next over the weeks, months and even years after, as hillsides ripped apart by the shaking can be where many new landslides occur.

Comments

  • Photo: Oenone C

    Oenone C commented on :

    Yes, I have experienced several earthquakes in my life – both while I was away overseas for work and in locations for personal reasons. Fortunately, they have never impacted me more than just a shake of the building.

    But as someone who works in international disaster response, I have responded to several earthquakes (Kashmir Earthquake 2005, Haiti Earthquake 2010, Nepal Earthquake 2015 and Turkey/Syria Earthquake 2025) – and not always by going to the place where the earthquake has happened. For all of these earthquakes I was co-ordinating goods and services to go the affected communities. And yes, as you can imagine, it is a VERY busy time.