Earthquake in Nepal: “Our Nightmare Scenario,” Says UN Official

An earthquake in Katmandu may become the world’s deadliest natural disaster event, perhaps ever.

In 2013, I spoke with Jo Scheuer of the United Nations Development Program. He is an expert in disaster risk reduction so I asked him what disaster scenario keeps him up at night? Without hesitating he said that an earthquake in Katmandu Valley could bring death and destruction even worse than the Haiti earthquake.  He was sure an earthquake would strike — and that the international community was racing the clock to prepare for it. He explained why that region is so vulnerable and what the UN, the local government and international NGOs were doing to mitigate the risk.