Page 80 - ICSE GEOGRAPHY

Mt Everest summit
(8,850 m/29,030 ft)

Pumori peak
(7,160 m/23,490 ft)

Lingtren peak
(6,700 m/22,000 ft)

Approximate location Base camp
Approximate location
and path of avalanche (5,400 m/17,700 ft)
and path of avalanche
Approximate location of the avalanche site

mountain and its surrounding area shift to conserve soil in the forests. Local
by a few centimetres both vertically and vegetation regeneration and reforestation
horizontally. takes a long time to recover.
At the mountain site, the earthquake killed at • Among the aff ected water bodies, were
least 18 people which made April 25, 2015 the Gosaikunda and Gokyo lakes. Th ese areas
deadliest day on the mountain in history. Th e
were home to some wildlife species of
earthquake triggered another huge avalanche
global signifi cance such as the red panda,
in the Langtang valley, where 250 people were
musk deer and Himalayan tahr. Th eir
reported missing.
important habitats like the blue pine
forest, temperate oak forest, sub-alpine
Environmental Impact of Earthquake
forest and birch forest were damaged in
• Th e earthquake damaged forest resources
Langtang National Park.
in 31 districts. Major loss of forests occurred
• Water shortages became more severe as
in the Langtang Valley and the Manaslu
earthquake-aff ected districts saw very
Conservation Area in central Nepal.
scanty rainfall.
• Th e forest areas in the earthquake-aff ected
zones faced large-scale deforestation as • Management of solid waste also became a
timber and other forest resources were in problem.
high demand to rebuild homes. • Huge amounts of recovered debris from
• A large amount of local vegetation was collapsed and damaged structures created
destroyed. Th is vegetation was used problems for the environment.

78