World

Nepal: the latest on a crisis

A rundown of the key issues facing the stricken country after its earthquake

May 01, 2015
Funeral pyres for victims of the earthquake blaze in Nepal. © Subel Bhandari/DPA/Press Association Images
Funeral pyres for victims of the earthquake blaze in Nepal. © Subel Bhandari/DPA/Press Association Images
Rescue efforts in Nepal have entered their fifth day, as the death toll from the 25th April earthquake nears 6,500. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has warned that number may reach 10,000 as information from remote villages comes in. Almost 14,000 people have been injured. Survivors have recently been found. On Thursday—a 15-year-old boy was pulled from rubble in Kathmandu, for example—but officials say the chances of finding more survivors are slim, with rescue operations being hampered by aftershocks and heavy rain.

Here's what you need to know about the issues facing Nepal in the coming days:

Humanitarian crisis

Some 8m million people have been affected by the earthquake according to a UN estimate–more than a quarter of the population of Nepal. 3m people are in need of food aid, with 70,000 houses destroyed and another 530,000 damaged. Thousands are fleeing Kathmandu as food and water supplies run low. More than 100,000 people have already left the capital, with officials estimating this number could reach 300,000–more than a tenth of the city’s population. On Wednesday, riot police clashed with protesters angry at a lack of transport out of the city and delays in distributing aid. Villagers in rural areas have also protested by blocking trucks carrying supplies.

Many survivors are now falling ill because they have been drinking contaminated water and living in the open.

Remote areas

Some of the most badly affected communities are in remote areas of the Himalayas, which rescuers have been unable to reach. Some villages can only be reached by foot with some areas taking up to four to five days to reach, according to the latest UN situation report.

The earthquake struck just before noon, when many people in rural areas were outside working in the fields, meaning most villagers were not injured by collapsing buildings, but it is thought tens of thousands of people have been left without shelter. The first images from the remote Gorkha district, site of the earthquake’s epicentre, show villages that have largely been flattened.

Many roads have been blocked by landslides, meaning aid and rescue operations are having to be carried out by air. Helicopter crews who have managed to reach isolated communities have reported meeting desperate villagers pleading to be airlifted to safety.

International efforts

Correspondents in the area have reported a serious shortage of helicopters, and Nepal has appealed for more to be sent by foreign governments. Home ministry official Laxmi Prasad Dhakal says there are currently around 20 Nepali army, Indian army and private helicopters involved in rescue operations, with more expected to be sent by China on Thursday.

The UN has appealed for $415m (£270m) to provide emergency relief over the next three months, and has also released $15m from an emergency response fund to help the victims. Aid has been sent by India, China, the US, the UK, Australia and Pakistan, among other countries.

To date, Britain has sent £15m. The latest £5m aid package will include a 30-strong medical team, airfield handling equipment and an agreement to fund humanitarian experts to help coordinate the relief effort. A team of more than 60 search and rescue responders and medical experts deployed by the Department for International Development is already in Nepal.