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A magnitude-6.7 aftershock shook Nepal's Kathmandu region a day after thousands of people were killed in the area's worst earthquake in decades. Wochit
Rescue workers from the Nepal Red Cross Society help injured people April 25, 2015, in Kathmandu, Nepal. New tremors sent shocked survivors scurrying outdoors just 24 hours after a devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook the region that has taken the lives of at least 2,500 people.(Photo: Carl Whetham, IFRC, via European Pressphoto Agency)
Relief efforts intensified in Kathmandu on Sunday as Nepal continued to reel from powerful aftershocks in the wake of the devastating earthquake that has already left more than 2,500 dead.
Relief groups, which began arriving in Nepal in large numbers Sunday, say there is still time to save lives. Government agencies and aid groups began rushing doctors, volunteers and equipment into Nepal as Kathmandu's international airport reopened. Some aid vehicles were able to travel overland from India to the stricken Nepalese city of Pokhara.
"That means supplies could potentially come in overland from India. That is a positive sign," said Ben Pickering, Save the Children's humanitarian adviser in Britain. "The airport opening is a small miracle."
He cautioned that chaotic conditions may create a bottleneck at the airport as governments and aid agencies try to bring in personnel and supplies in the coming days.
UNICEF said Sunday that at least 940,000 children in areas affected by the earthquake are in "urgent need" of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF staff reported dwindling water supplies, power shortages and communications breakdowns.
There is still a dearth of information about conditions at the epicenter of the earthquake, Pickering said, and is not clear which roads are passable.
"Going forward it's about access to the epicenter, and helicopters are the key, but it's not clear whether they can be sourced and whether the high altitude is a problem," he said.
Pickering added that Save the Children has emergency kits pre-positioned in three warehouses in Nepal and plans to distribute bedding, buckets and other basic supplies to 2,000 families as quickly as possible.
"Day two is just as bad as day one. We get the aftershocks every five minutes," said Basanta Adhikari of Biratnagar, in eastern Nepal.
Adhikari said his uncle was killed in Kathmandu on Saturday near where he was admitting his son to a hospital.
"He was standing at a shop with his friend chatting when the Earth started shaking. He ran out to try to survive, but to no avail as a tall house fell on him, and he was buried under the rubble," Adhikari said.
Vast tent cities have sprung up in Kathmandu since Saturday's magnitude-7.8 earthquake. It destroyed swaths of the oldest neighborhoods of Kathmandu, and was strong enough to be felt all across parts of India, Bangladesh, China's region of Tibet and Pakistan.
With people fearing more quakes, many Nepalese felt safer spending the night under chilly skies, or in cars and public buses. The aftershocks Sunday made people more tense.
"There were at least three big quakes at night and early morning. How can we feel safe? This is never-ending and everyone is scared and worried," Kathmandu resident Sundar Sah told the Associated Press. "I hardly got much sleep. I was waking up every few hours and glad that I was alive."
This is the most devastating earthquake the poor South Asian country has seen in 80 years. Nepal authorities said Sunday that at least 2,430 people died in that country alone, not including the 18 dead in a subsequent avalanche on Mount Everest. Another 61 people died from the quake in India and a few in other neighboring countries. At least 5,900 have been injured. With search and rescue efforts far from over, the death toll is expected to rise.
But as the first stunned survivors of the avalanche on Mount Everest reached Kathmandu, they said that dozens of people may still be missing and were almost certainly dead.
"The snow swept away many tents and people," said Gyelu Sherpa, a guide among the first group of 15 injured survivors to reach Kathmandu.
Those 15 survivors, most of them Sherpa guides or support staff working on Everest, flew from Lukla, a small airstrip not far from Everest. None were believed to be facing life-threatening injuries, but many limped to a bus taking them to a nearby hospital, or they were partially wrapped in bandages.
Laxmi Dhakal, an official from Nepal's Home Ministry, said Sunday that the number of casualties was expected to climb.
City hospitals remained overwhelmed and tens of thousands of people, fearful of aftershocks bringing down more buildings, spent Saturday night outside. The United Nations said emergency supplies were running out, as was space to store corpses.
The world reacted quickly to the disaster, offering money, relief materials, equipment, expertise and rescue teams to the country of 28 million people that relies heavily on tourism, principally trekking and Himalayan mountain climbing.
The U.S. Mission in Nepal released an initial $1 million for immediate assistance. Australia pledged $5 million in aid. Pakistan, China and Britain said they would assist in the relief effort.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis led prayers for the dead and those injured in the massive earthquake. He called for assistance for survivors, and "all those who are suffering from this calamity," during his weekly Sunday blessing.
Rescuers were continuing to dig through the rubble of concrete, bricks, wood and iron to hunt for survivors.
In one particularly harrowing incident Sunday, police in Kathmandu's Kalanki neighborhood managed to save a man who was trapped under a dead person. His family stood nearby crying and praying.
Police were eventually able to dig out the man, who was surrounded by concrete and iron beams. His legs and hips were crushed under the weight of the debris.
Contributing: Naila Inayat in Lahore, Pakistan; Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.; the Associated Press
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Nepal earthquake sparks avalanche at Mount Everest
Apr 26, 2015
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A magnitude-6.7 aftershock shook Nepal's Kathmandu region a day after thousands of people were killed in the area's worst earthquake in decades. Wochit
Rescue workers from the Nepal Red Cross Society help injured people April 25, 2015, in Kathmandu, Nepal. New tremors sent shocked survivors scurrying outdoors just 24 hours after a devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook the region that has taken the lives of at least 2,500 people.(Photo: Carl Whetham, IFRC, via European Pressphoto Agency)
Relief efforts intensified in Kathmandu on Sunday as Nepal continued to reel from powerful aftershocks in the wake of the devastating earthquake that has already left more than 2,500 dead.
Relief groups, which began arriving in Nepal in large numbers Sunday, say there is still time to save lives. Government agencies and aid groups began rushing doctors, volunteers and equipment into Nepal as Kathmandu's international airport reopened. Some aid vehicles were able to travel overland from India to the stricken Nepalese city of Pokhara.
"That means supplies could potentially come in overland from India. That is a positive sign," said Ben Pickering, Save the Children's humanitarian adviser in Britain. "The airport opening is a small miracle."
He cautioned that chaotic conditions may create a bottleneck at the airport as governments and aid agencies try to bring in personnel and supplies in the coming days.
UNICEF said Sunday that at least 940,000 children in areas affected by the earthquake are in "urgent need" of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF staff reported dwindling water supplies, power shortages and communications breakdowns.
There is still a dearth of information about conditions at the epicenter of the earthquake, Pickering said, and is not clear which roads are passable.
"Going forward it's about access to the epicenter, and helicopters are the key, but it's not clear whether they can be sourced and whether the high altitude is a problem," he said.
Pickering added that Save the Children has emergency kits pre-positioned in three warehouses in Nepal and plans to distribute bedding, buckets and other basic supplies to 2,000 families as quickly as possible.
"Day two is just as bad as day one. We get the aftershocks every five minutes," said Basanta Adhikari of Biratnagar, in eastern Nepal.
Adhikari said his uncle was killed in Kathmandu on Saturday near where he was admitting his son to a hospital.
"He was standing at a shop with his friend chatting when the Earth started shaking. He ran out to try to survive, but to no avail as a tall house fell on him, and he was buried under the rubble," Adhikari said.
Vast tent cities have sprung up in Kathmandu since Saturday's magnitude-7.8 earthquake. It destroyed swaths of the oldest neighborhoods of Kathmandu, and was strong enough to be felt all across parts of India, Bangladesh, China's region of Tibet and Pakistan.
With people fearing more quakes, many Nepalese felt safer spending the night under chilly skies, or in cars and public buses. The aftershocks Sunday made people more tense.
"There were at least three big quakes at night and early morning. How can we feel safe? This is never-ending and everyone is scared and worried," Kathmandu resident Sundar Sah told the Associated Press. "I hardly got much sleep. I was waking up every few hours and glad that I was alive."
This is the most devastating earthquake the poor South Asian country has seen in 80 years. Nepal authorities said Sunday that at least 2,430 people died in that country alone, not including the 18 dead in a subsequent avalanche on Mount Everest. Another 61 people died from the quake in India and a few in other neighboring countries. At least 5,900 have been injured. With search and rescue efforts far from over, the death toll is expected to rise.
But as the first stunned survivors of the avalanche on Mount Everest reached Kathmandu, they said that dozens of people may still be missing and were almost certainly dead.
"The snow swept away many tents and people," said Gyelu Sherpa, a guide among the first group of 15 injured survivors to reach Kathmandu.
Those 15 survivors, most of them Sherpa guides or support staff working on Everest, flew from Lukla, a small airstrip not far from Everest. None were believed to be facing life-threatening injuries, but many limped to a bus taking them to a nearby hospital, or they were partially wrapped in bandages.
Laxmi Dhakal, an official from Nepal's Home Ministry, said Sunday that the number of casualties was expected to climb.
City hospitals remained overwhelmed and tens of thousands of people, fearful of aftershocks bringing down more buildings, spent Saturday night outside. The United Nations said emergency supplies were running out, as was space to store corpses.
The world reacted quickly to the disaster, offering money, relief materials, equipment, expertise and rescue teams to the country of 28 million people that relies heavily on tourism, principally trekking and Himalayan mountain climbing.
The U.S. Mission in Nepal released an initial $1 million for immediate assistance. Australia pledged $5 million in aid. Pakistan, China and Britain said they would assist in the relief effort.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis led prayers for the dead and those injured in the massive earthquake. He called for assistance for survivors, and "all those who are suffering from this calamity," during his weekly Sunday blessing.
Rescuers were continuing to dig through the rubble of concrete, bricks, wood and iron to hunt for survivors.
In one particularly harrowing incident Sunday, police in Kathmandu's Kalanki neighborhood managed to save a man who was trapped under a dead person. His family stood nearby crying and praying.
Police were eventually able to dig out the man, who was surrounded by concrete and iron beams. His legs and hips were crushed under the weight of the debris.
Contributing: Naila Inayat in Lahore, Pakistan; Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.; the Associated Press
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1z74hqu
USA NOW
Nepal earthquake sparks avalanche at Mount Everest
Apr 26, 2015
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