KATHMANDU (TIP): The April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks have turned one of the world’s most scenic regions in the world into a desolation and devastation.
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- More than 5,800 are confirmed dead as per the official death toll
- Nepal‘s PM says death toll could more than double
- More than 14 international medical teams in search-and-rescue operations
- India, US, Britain, UAE, Poland, France, Swiss, Israel, Italy, Canada & UN all providing support to Nepal
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Thousands of people have lost their lives and thousands more have been injured in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and its surrounding areas. Mount Everest was also struck by deadly avalanches after the quake on Saturday.
Rescue crews and residents in Nepal began the desperate search for survivors near the capital of Kathmandu. The devastation is massive with flattened homes, buildings and temples, causing widespread damage across the region and killing more than 5800 and rising.
Whole streets and squares in the capital of more than 1 million people were covered in rubble. Stunned residents stared at temples that were once part of their daily lives and now were reduced to nothing.
Locals and tourists ferreted through mounds of debris in search of survivors.
Officials have warned that the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams reach remote mountainous areas of western Nepal.
“Our estimates are not looking good. We are thinking that 10,000 to 15,000 may be killed,” said Gen. Gaurav Rana, who is leading the nationwide rescue effort.
Rana acknowledged that massive temblor left officials struggling to cope with the aftermath – including the risk of disease and growing public anger at the pace of the rescue effort.
“There is unrest, and we are watching it. Yes, there is the threat of an epidemic, and we are watching it,” he said.
Rana said he understood how many people “would be angry” about the government’s response, stressing that the army was working with the police to “identify local hot spots and control.”
[quote_box_center]India gives massive help[/quote_box_center]
A defense ministry handout shows teams from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and Indian Air Force material on their way to earthquake-hit Nepal. Indian planes were the first to land in Kathmandu with water, food, earthmoving equipment, tents, blankets, mobile hospitals, specialized rescue teams and specialized manpower to help restore electricity supply-a combination of rescue and relief.
Indian planes were the first to land in Kathmandu with water, food, earthmoving equipment, tents, blankets, mobile hospitals, specialized rescue teams and specialized manpower to help restore electricity supply-a combination of rescue and relief. Increasingly, as Nepal’s only airport gets crowded with flights from other nations, India has been moving most of its material by road to Nepal.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, a home ministry force, have fanned out beyond Kathmandu to try and reach wrecked villages and hamlets lying in inaccessible and remote parts.
Military helicopters have conducted reconnaissance flights, and what they report about the extent of the devastation is said to be pretty grim.
Alongside, showing his personal involvement in the relief effort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a series of tweets on 27 April, thanked the NDRF teams, armed forces, doctors, volunteers,
“enthusiastic youngsters”, state governments that were helping out, the media (“they are bravely covering the disaster from the ground”), and saluted “the resilience of our sisters & brothers in Nepal & parts of India, for their courage in the face of disaster”.