Nepal's quake-damaged museums re-open: UNESCO
August 11, 2016  09:43
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More than a year after the devastating earthquakes struck Nepal, some of the country's famous museums and institutions have once again opened to visitors as a result of combined work of the UN's cultural agency and its partners, a top UN official has said.

"The rehabilitation of Nepal's museums and historical buildings following the 2015 earthquake has a deep, positive impact on the economic and social development of the country," said Christian Manhart, Director of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Kathmandu.

"There is a tremendous sense of identity, determination and hope that comes with the reopening of museums and the restoration of temples," Manhart said.

The April 2015 earthquake and series of aftershocks killed more than 8,700 people, injured more than 22,000, and destroyed or damaged more than 250,000 houses.

The disaster also badly affected the landlocked country's cultural and natural heritage as 691 historic buildings in 16 districts were damaged, of which 131 fully collapsed. In the months after the earthquake, UNESCO joined the country's Department of Archaeology in salvaging, inventorying and ensuring the safe-storage of artefacts and other architectural features in several impacted sites and museums including the capital's Hanumandhoka, Swayambhu and Chhauni National Museum.
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