BEFORE AND AFTER: Patan's Darbar Square in 1934 after a magnitutde 8.3 earthquake levelled it, and on Wednesday at noon (bottom). January 16 is Earthquake Safety Day in Nepal, and experts say a similar earthquake today would destroy up to 70 per cent of the Valley's buildings and kill upwards of 300,000 people.

KIRAN PANDAY

If the pictures of Haiti's wrecked presidential palace remind us how futile human endeavours are in the face of nature's brute force, it won't be the first time. The earthquake of 1934 caused similar damage to the Kathmandu Valley, and the relatively low number of casualties (by today's standards) shouldn't deceive us into thinking our capital will get off with anywhere near the level of punishment. As we remember the victims of the Haitian quake in the run-up to Earthquake Safety Day on Jan 16, we'd do well to assess our own risk and consider how we can prepare for the inevitable.

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Do or die - FROM ISSUE #485 (15 JAN 2010 - 21 JAN 2010)