MAY 1 (Reuters) — Five days after Nepal was hit by a massive quake, measuring 7.9 on Richter scale, residents in the Sindhupal district were on Thursday (April 30) still sifting through the rubble as the death toll continues to rise.
Sindhupal, home to more than 300,000 people, is the worst affected in the Himalayan nation with almost 2,000 deaths being reported.
The government still has little precise information where the damage is most extensive and who needs help urgently. According to the interior ministry, the confirmed death toll stands neared 6,000 with more than 11,000 injured.
Many Nepalese have been sleeping in the open since Saturday’s quake. According to the United Nations, 600,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged.
It said eight million people had been affected, with at least two million in need of tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months.
One resident of Sindhupal told ANI: “Almost all mortar and stone buildings are destroyed and most of the people are houseless, they have no place to dwell now.”
Another said most people were sleeping on the ground outside buildings and relief had been meager although some food had got through.
A series of aftershocks, severe damage from the quake, creaking infrastructure and a lack of funds have slowed rescue efforts in the impoverished, mountainous country sandwiched between India and China.
The situation is worse in remote rural areas. Highways have been blocked by landslides, and many villages and communities are without water and electricity, villagers surviving on salvaged food and with no outside help.