Updated 9am, 30th April 2015
The death toll from Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal has topped 5,200 with fears it could climb as high as 10,000.
The news comes as the UN launches a $US415 million appeal for those affected by the quake which injured at least 10,000, reducing buildings in Kathmandu’s historic district to rubble and sparked avalanches on Mount Everest, killing at least 18 people on the mountain.
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IN THE AFTERMATH: Top and middle – People walk around historic Durbar Square, Kathmandu, destroyed by the earthquake on 25th April; and bottom – Displaced families shelter in a vacant field next to Nepal Army headquarters in Kathmandu. PICTURES: ¬¨¬© UNICEF "The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing. It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal." – Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala |
The UN estimates that as many as 2.8 million Nepalese have been displaced from their homes as a result of the earthquake with more than 70,000 homes destroyed and another 530,000 homes damaged across 39 affected districts.
More than 3.5 million people are in need of food assistance.
UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Nepal, Jamie McGoldrick, said while he was "heartened and encouraged" by the progress of the response to date, "efforts need to be maintained and stepped up to ensure vital assistance reaches all the affected, especially those in the remote areas”.
“The timing of the intervention remains of the essence," he said.
Earlier Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said the death toll could reach 10,000.
"The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing," he reportedly said. "It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal."
With roads blocked by landslides, reaching remote villages has been difficult.
"Narrow roads have hampered the rescue efforts even further as bulldozers have not been able to reach the collapsed buildings, and rescue workers report trying to dig injured out by hands and very limited equipment," Australian Red Cross aid worker Ritva Janti – one of 300 Red Cross workers in the country – said from Kathmandu on Monday.
The UN’s child-focused agency, UNICEF, says 1.7 million children living in affected areas were in urgent need of help and has launched a $50 million appeal to get assitance to children and their families amid what it says is a "growing risk" of disease outbreaks.
Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF’s Nepal representative, said many children are in "desperate need of life-saving support, including clean water, shelter and sanitation".
"Without a safe water supply, waterborne diseases remain huge risks for children. Many families are struggling simply to protect themselves from the sun and rain and we only expect needs to grow in the coming days as we receive more information from remoter areas and the full scale of the disaster becomes more apparent."
UNICEF’s Bijaya Rajbhandari, was with his family in Kathmandu when the earthquake hit.
“It was a terrifyingly strong earthquake,” he said. “Today, we can see extensive damage to buildings across the city and many people have spent the night outside in the cold because of the ongoing shocks. These people are without basic facilities and the government hospitals are already overcrowded. People need help and they need it now.”
Hospitals have been overwhelmed dealing with thousands of injured in Kathmandu and Pokhara, a lakeside town which lies about 75 kilometres west of the earthquake’s epicentre.
Earlier, Eleanor Trinchera, Caritas Australia programs coordinator, said she had never seen "so much devastation".
"While the streets are rife with activity and chaos as people try to find loved ones and friends, the city is paralysed with destroyed buildings, blocked roads, intermittent power and rolling aftershocks."
World Vision’s national director Liz Satow said in the immediate aftermath of the quake that many people were too frightened to enter buildings for fear they would collapse as a result of aftershocks. "People are very worried and have for a long time feared the big quake."
Officials from numerous countries including Australia, the UK and New Zealand, were attempting to trace their citizens – in the country as tourists – following the quake. Melbourne mother-of-two Renu Fotedar is the first Australian to be named among the deceased, killed in the avalanche triggered on Mount Everest by the quake.
Australia is among nations which have pledged aid in response to the disaster, promising $5 million in aid. The UK has pledged £5 million and the US $10 million along with other assistance. China and Sri Lanka are among other countries which have responded to the crisis.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on the weekend that along with the many lives lost, there had been "significant damage to Nepal’s irreplaceable cultural heritage".
The UNESCO-listed Dharahara Tower – built in 1832 for the Queen of Nepal – was among the buildings destroyed in he earthquake.
Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world.
TO DONATE:
• Baptist World Aid Australia: Phone 1300 789 991 or see www.bapistworldaustralia.org.au
‚Äö√Ѭ¢ Caritas Australia’s Emergency Response Fund – Phone 1800 024 413 or see www.caritas.org.au
• Australian Red Cross: Phone 1800 811 700 or see www.redcross.org.au
• UNICEF: Phone 1300 884 233 or see www.unicef.org.au
‚Äö√Ѭ¢ World Vision Australia’s Earthquake Appeal – Phone 13 32 40 or see www.worldvision.com.au
