Pokhara ‒ Nepal
Mapping for Resiliency and Emergency Planning
Western Nepal faces a significant threat of earthquakes and natural disasters. However, geospatial data is largely inaccessible or non-existent. In the wake of a major disaster, first responders and those involved in recovery efforts will be handicapped by this lack of information.
Pokhara is Nepal’s second largest city after Kathmandu - the 2011 national census recorded a population of around 255,000. Rapid and unplanned urbanization has resulted in a population now exceeding 310,000. The city is located near the base of the Himalayas, and the residents are subject to earthquakes and flooding events from the Seti Gandaki River.
Help us to map critical infrastructure in Pokhara. Using current high-resolution imagery, we will digitize roads, and open areas within the city – resulting in a free and open map data of Pokhara. OpenStreetMap will be used as the platform to digitize, store, and share such critical data for usage by first responders, planners and geospatial enthusiasts.
Pokhara is a city of interest for the Department of State's Secondary Cities Initiative. Secondary Cities is the United States Office of the Geographer’s flagship field-based initiative to assist rapidly growing cities to build capacity for data generation for resiliency, human security, and emergency preparedness. The main activities under this initiative in Pokhara are being led by Kathmandu Living Labs.
