08.09.2026

Václav Kuna of the Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences spoke on Czech Radio’s Osobnost Plus programme about the current situation in Nepal, the recent disaster, and ways to reduce the impacts of earthquakes. Nepal is one of the world’s geologically highly active regions. Earthquakes, landslides and floods are an everyday risk, and life in narrow mountain valleys can become extremely dangerous during major natural events.

In the interview, he explains why Nepal’s location at the boundary of active tectonic structures makes it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and other geological hazards. He also discusses the specific characteristics of mountainous environments, where landslides can block rivers and create unstable natural dams whose failure may threaten communities further downstream.

One of the main topics of the interview is also the earthquake early warning system, a subject to which Václav Kuna has devoted his research for many years. The project is supported by the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Strategy AV21 programme – Dynamic Planet Earth.

Although earthquakes cannot yet be predicted, once an earthquake begins, sensitive seismic instruments can detect its first signals and an automated system can rapidly determine where the event occurred and assess its potentially destructive impact. Information about an earthquake can travel through communication networks faster than the seismic waves themselves. In mountainous regions, however, not only the deployment of instruments but also the delivery of warnings presents a major challenge. Mobile coverage and internet access are not available everywhere, so reliable ways must be found to quickly alert people who may be at risk. These may include mobile notifications, SMS messages or warning sirens.

🎧 You can listen to the full interview with Václav Kuna on the Czech Radio Plus website:

Geofyzik: Sesuvy a zemětřesení jsou v Nepálu běžné. Jste vydáni napospas živlu, není kam se schovat