KATHMANDU: Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has said that safe construction, shelters, and behavior are essential to mitigating the damage from earthquakes.

Addressing a meeting organized on the occasion of the 28th Earthquake Safety Day, he stated that long-term public awareness is necessary to reduce earthquake risks. The program was organized on Friday at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

“Earthquake safety should not be limited to programs that can be completed in a day through activities such as putting up posters and holding formal events. Awareness must be enhanced in schools, hospitals, government offices, industries, and communities,” said Home Minister Aryal.

Stating that the government has made important policy and structural initiatives for earthquake and multi-hazard risk reduction, he said that effective implementation of disaster-related legal and structural arrangements is the main challenge at present.

Home Minister Aryal instructed the stakeholders to prioritize mock drills between security agencies and the community, stating that the first response to an earthquake should come from the local level. He said that it is necessary to strongly convey the message of implementing the building code to prevent or mitigate damage from earthquakes and other disasters and not to make any kind of compromise on this.

“Now our programs should be result-oriented, not speech-oriented, and they should focus on behavior change. Schools and youth should be placed at the center, because tomorrow’s safe Nepal is built by today’s youth. Active participation of local units should be ensured,” Minister Aryal said.

He reminded that earthquake safety is not only the responsibility of the government. “For this, the role of the private sector, development partners, the media, and citizens themselves is also crucial, and a safe Nepal is not possible without the collective efforts of all,” he added.

Minister Aryal highlighted the need for a collective commitment toward building a safe, capable, and disaster-resilient Nepal as earthquake risks can be reduced through preparedness and risk mitigation efforts.

The meeting has decided on this year’s Earthquake Safety Day main slogan: ‘Preparedness of all levels of government, all citizens: Earthquake Resilient Nepal, the responsibility of now.’

The main ceremony to mark the Earthquake Safety Day will be held on January 16 with the participation of Prime Minister Sushila Karki as the chief guest.

The meeting was attended by Home Secretary Raj Kumar Shrestha, secretaries of various ministries, deputy mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the chief administrative officer of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, chiefs of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, the director general of the National Investigation Department, a brigadier general of the Nepali Army, and the chief executive officer NDRRMA.