The official resident of the president and prime minister of Nepal are among the most vulnerable to earthquake, according to a study by the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET). The government offices in Singha Darbar, residential quarters of ministers at Harihar Bhawan, the Ministry of Education in Keshar Mahal and the three palaces of Hanuman Dhoka, Patan and Bhaktapur, listed as world heritage sites, are all prone to earthquakes.

NSET's Amod Dixit says, "There is an urgent need to make all the government buildings earthquake resistant, because we are risking the lives of prominent government officials and with them, the institutions they run."

An engineer at the Department of Urban and Housing Development says old buildings are at risk because nobody has shown interest in retrofitting them to withstand earthquakes. NSET says tectonic pressure under the Himalaya has been accumulating and could lead to an earthquake of at least 8 magnitude in the near future.