ABSTRACT
On 25 April 2015, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude shook the country of Nepal, with its epicenter northwest of Kathmandu. This was followed by a second earthquake with 7.3 magnitude on 12 May 2015. Disasters such as this are regarded in many cases simply as fateful events with comparable effects on all people irrespective of class, ethnicity, caste, gender, and geographic location. We call these “natural” calamities, but social-historical conditions and human action profoundly shape their outcomes. Based on the research conducted in 2018 in earthquake-affected districts in Nepal, this paper demonstrates unequal impact of the disaster and disproportionately distributed capacity to recover. This paper argues that a disaster is social – an individual’s or group’s location in the social structure, power hierarchy, and access to various forms of economic and social capital – shape their ability to anticipate and respond. It concludes that concept of disaster justice is useful for understanding these important dimensions of differential impact, resilience capacity, and recovery.
