Building safety

Is your home safe?

In an earthquake, it's the building that hurts people — not the shaking itself. Knowing whether yours is vulnerable, and what to do about it, is the single biggest way to protect your family.

Most earthquake deaths are caused by collapsing buildings. A stronger home is worth more than any kit or app.

Red flags

Warning signs your building may be vulnerable

Green flags

What a safer building has

What you can do

  • Get a professional assessment. A licensed structural engineer can evaluate your home — especially older, masonry or soft-storey buildings.
  • Retrofit a weak building. Strengthening (column jacketing, adding bands/splints, bracing) can dramatically improve safety. Ask an engineer what fits your home.
  • Build new homes to code. Insist on a National-Building-Code design and trained masons. Don't cut the steel to save money.
  • Don't add unauthorised floors or remove ground-floor walls and columns.
  • Fix the non-structural hazards — anchor furniture, water tanks, parapets and anything that can fall on people.
  • Use your municipality. Most municipalities require a building permit and offer engineering guidance — use it.

What is retrofitting?

Retrofitting means strengthening an existing building so it can better resist earthquakes — for example by jacketing weak columns, adding reinforced bands or steel bracing, or tying walls together. After 2015, retrofitting saved many homes that would otherwise have needed rebuilding. It is far cheaper than reconstruction and should always be designed by a qualified engineer.

This page is general awareness, not a substitute for a licensed structural engineer's assessment. Every building is different — have yours evaluated before relying on it. For official guidance see Nepal's National Building Code and your local municipality.

Know your home, know your risk

Pair this with the recorded seismicity and terrain hazards for your district.

Check my district risk Preparedness guide
Interactive

Room-by-room hazard hunt

It's the contents of a home that cause most injuries. Walk through yours with this checklist — tick what's already safe; progress saves on this device.

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Know your shut-offs

After strong shaking, check for leaks and damage — and shut a utility off the moment you suspect trouble.

Gas (LPG cylinder)

  1. Smell gas or hear hissing? Touch no switches, light no matches.
  2. Turn the cylinder valve clockwise until snug.
  3. Open windows and leave. Test joints later with soapy water — never a flame.

Electricity

  1. Find your main breaker (MCB) box today, before you ever need it.
  2. After strong shaking, or at any spark or burning smell, switch the main OFF.
  3. Keep it off until the wiring has been checked.

Water

  1. Find the main stop-valve — usually near the meter or tank.
  2. Close it if pipes leak; soaked walls weaken quickly.
  3. Your drinking water lives in the go-bag — keep it separate.