UAlbany Experts Advisory: Nepal Earthquake Response Faces Significant Challenges

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 29, 2015) – As aid begins to flow into the hardest-hit areas of Nepal following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the number of people impacted has reached staggering heights. The death toll from the disaster rose above 5,000 only four days after the earthquake, with at least 10,000 injured.

The 7.8-magnitude April 25 earthquake has left as many as a quarter of Nepal's 27.8 million people in need of aid. (Photo Wally Santana, AP)

UNICEF estimates that 1.7 million children are in urgent need of aid. More than a quarter of Nepal's 27.8 million people face significant challenges, as landslides continue to plague recovery efforts and threaten more lives in areas already destabilized by the earthquake and subsequent tremors.

Faculty experts at the University at Albany are available to provide analysis on the disaster relief efforts, including aid teams sent to respond in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, as well as the follow-up care required to help individuals, families and communities cope with the long-term impact of the devastation.

UAlbany's emergency response experts include:

• Rick C. Mathews, director of the National Center for Security and Preparedness: Mathews is an expert on infrastructure protection, homeland security, information sharing, critical decision-making, facility and systems security, and emergency preparedness. He can discuss the logistical problems associated with relief efforts in Nepal and how to coordinate disaster response across multiple agencies, including international and multinational organizations.
• Loretta Pyles, associate professor at UAlbany's School of Social Welfare: Pyles is an expert on disaster and social inequality and community organizing. Pyles led a comparative study of disaster recovery efforts in the U.S. gulf coast communities and Haiti following the catastrophic 2010 earthquake that left more than 100,000 people dead and thousands of buildings destroyed.
• Blanca Ramos, associate professor at School of Social Welfare: Ramos, an expert on cross-cultural social work and immigration, examined the experiences of older adult survivors of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Peru on August 15, 2007. She can discuss the responses, experiences, health concerns and adjustments of disaster survivors in the aftermath of major disasters.

Learn more about UAlbany's forthcoming College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cyberscurity. Visit UAlbany's faculty experts database.

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