Tag Archives: Nepal

Nepal Quake Devastated Nation’s Healthcare System

The massive 7.8 earthquake that rocked Nepal and left hundreds dead still hasn’t been fully noted by the government but a report on the state of the healthcare system shows the country is in serious trouble.

A new report given to the Nepal planning commission shows that one third of the nation’s healthcare system has been destroyed or severely damaged to the point it is currently inoperable.  Almost 450 public health facilities in the nation were completely destroyed by the quake and its aftershocks.

Over 700 public health facilities have been reported with significant damage although they are still able to provide some services.

The total value of the damage is estimated to be around $58 million and the estimate cost to rebuild is close to $110 million over the next five years.

The situation is being complicated by the monsoon season with landslides threatening some of the remaining damaged healthcare structures.

The WHO said Nepal was one of the worst nations in the world for healthcare before the quake, with only 2.1 doctors per 10,000 residents of the population.    The WHO says native doctors head for more industrialized nations in search of better pay and working conditions.

“Health services must be rebuilt and made accessible to all, while risk-reduction programmes must be implemented at the sub-national level,” Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, wrote last week. “Soil testing, the enforcement of health facility-related building codes, and investment in design of quake-proof facilities and homes must be encouraged across the country.”

Nepal Quake Death Toll Highest In Nation’s History

The death toll from the massive earthquakes and aftershocks in Nepal has become the largest in the country’s history.

Officials confirmed the death toll has passed 8,500.

The official count of 8,583 passed the previous record of 8,519 set in 1934.  The 1934 quake also led to the deaths of thousands in neighboring India which was spared the same level of devastation in the dual quakes.

Officials also reported over 250,000 homes confirmed destroyed by the quake or resulting landslides.

Hundreds are still missing including 112 foreigners, although officials said those foreigners could have simply left the country without informing officials they were survivors of the quake.

United Nations officials say the death toll in the region could go higher in the coming months as refugees who lost their homes and belongings have to face disease, starvation and the upcoming monsoon season.  The UN reports impassable roads and the country’s looming monsoon season are hampering relief efforts.

The UN is attempting to raise $423 million from countries around the world for relief in Nepal but only 16% of that goal has been raised.

The rescue efforts have also been hampered by ongoing aftershocks.  A 5.7 magnitude aftershock struck the region Saturday.

Miracle Baby Born Amidst Nepal Tragedy

One baby boy is bringing light to a dark place just by being born.

Two weeks prior to his birth, his mother, Dolma Tamang, was buried under rubble after Nepal was hit by the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck on April 25. She managed to climb out from the rubble while being “heavily pregnant” and was able to receive help.

“I was so worried about the baby that I did not care about my own health, even though I had wounds everywhere and had trouble breathing,” Tamang told BBC.

On Wednesday, Tamang began labor and was transported to a Red Cross clinic by a mobile unit of Japanese clinicians.

“Even though we lost almost all of our belongings and live in a temporary shelter, I could not be happier and more thankful for this little miracle,” Tamang said. “This baby being born healthy is a sign of hope and second life for our whole family.”

All reports show that both mother and child are healthy.

Nepal Hit By Another Major Earthquake

Nepal, which has still not recovered from a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in April and left over 8,000 dead, has been hit with another massive earthquake.

The magnitude 7.3 quake struck Tuesday with at least 32 people confirmed dead from this second quake.

The quake caused an avalanche in a region about 30 miles north of the capital city of Kathmandu but CNN reports the area was sparsely populated after the April quake.

“For the first seconds, it was complete silence. By the fifth second, everybody started to scream,” documentarian Marc Sarrado told CNN.  “It was really, really intense. Even when the shaking stopped, people were still screaming. They were completely panicked, because they knew exactly what it was.”

BBC reporter Yogita Limaye was in the mountains when the quake struck.

“The earth shook and it shook for a pretty long time,” Limaye said.  “I can completely understand the sense of panic. We have been seeing tremors: it’s been two-and-a-half weeks since the first quake. But this one really felt like it went on for a really long time. People have been terrified.”

A U.S. Marine helicopter in the region to provide help has been reported missing by American commanders.  Six Marines and two Nepali soldiers were on the craft.

Two Men Quote Bible From Memory To Raise Nepal Relief

Two men are quoting the Bible from memory in a 24 hour marathon in an effort to raise funds for relief efforts in Nepal.

Tom Meyer and Jason Nightingale of the ministry Wordsowers International began at noon Wednesday with a goal of all 100 percent of the raised monies going to help those who have been devastated by the Nepal earthquake.

“We have done similar events in the past but none of them have been streamlined online before. We tell the Bible as the sermon from memory weekly as a full-time ministry,” Meyer told the Christian Post.

Visitors to the campus of Shasta Bible College in Redding, California were also welcomed to watch the event taking place.

The group was inspired in part by the call for support from the United Nations.

“The United Nations estimates that more than 3 million people are in need of food assistance — and nearly half of those need it immediately. Emergency funding of $415 million is needed,” reported CNN.

“[Nepal Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat] said the quake had completely or partially destroyed nearly 300,000 houses.”

“Impossible” To Find All Dead In Nepal Village

Rescuers digging through the rubble of what was once the village of Langtang have said it’s likely they will never be able to find all the victims of the earthquake and landslide.

“The entire village was wiped out by the mudslide. There were some 60 houses there, but they were all buried under rubble. It will be impossible to recover all the bodies,” government official Gautam Rimal said to CBS.

The village is only 35 miles north of the capital of Kathmandu, but because of damage to the region it now takes rescuers two days to reach the site.  Helicopters can fly in but because they are in very short supply they cannot make regular relief runs to the town.

The death toll from the quake has officially passes 7,500.

Government officials say that one-third of the population of Kathmandu has left the city.  While some have returned to try and find or help relatives, the bus stations are still packed with people who are trying to leave.

The population of the region with the capital city was 2.5 million at the time of the quake.

Some parts of the city are returning to normal with some markets reopening and fresh food and vegetables being made available to residents.  USAID announced $11 million in emergency supplies for the region including safe drinking water.

Nepal Teen Rescued After 5 Days Under Rubble

Rescuers were calling it a miracle that a teenager was found alive after five days buried under rubble in Nepal.

Pemba Tamang, 15, was buried under the rubble of a seven-story building in the capital of Kathmandu since Sunday when the structure collapsed during the main earthquake.  He was described as “dazed and dusty.”

Tamang was alert and able to speak with rescuers as he was lifted from the rubble on a stretcher.

“He thanked me when I first approached him,” police officer L.B. Basnet told reporters. “He told me his name, his address, and I gave him some water. I assured him we were near to him.”

Tamang told the AP he had been working in the building when it fell and that he survived by eating a form of butter.

Residents in the area have been nervous about entering buildings as aftershocks continue to shake the region.  Scientists say that 70 aftershocks have struck since the main quake.

“It’s getting back to normal, but we’re still feeling aftershocks. It still doesn’t feel safe,” said Prabhu Dutta, a 27-year-old banker from Kathmandu.

The rescue of Tamang was a high point to start the day for the rescuers who ended on a high note as well when they pulled a young woman in her 20s from a building near Kathmandu’s bus terminals.

Krishna Devi Khadka has not yet spoken with the media.

Police say the death toll is now officially 5,858 not counting anyone who died on Mount Everest.

Nepal Family Loses 18 Members in Earthquake

Stories of tragedy from Nepal continue to make their way out of the devastated region.  The latest involves one family that lost 18 members in the quake when a house fell in upon them.

Shankar Pradhan shared his story with the Associated Press as he stood by a funeral pyre for the members of his family.  He had just finished pouring holy water on the feet and lips of his 21-year-old daughter who died in the quake.  She was inside the four-story home of Shankar’s brother when it fell.

“I don’t know why this happened. But I don’t blame anyone. I don’t blame the government, I don’t blame the gods,” he said, struggling to fight back tears. “You can’t escape the rules of this life. None of us escape the fact that one day you’ll have to leave it.”

The family had gathered inside the home to prepare for the start of a weeklong prayer session for peace and safety.

Krishna Lal Shrestha, who was inside the home at the time of the quake decorating a four foot tall marble temple with flowers, said the quake struck violently causing him to be thrown to the ground.  He tried to crawl back to save relatives but a wave of the quake threw him out the door and to safety.

He had to watch helplessly in horror as the floors collapsed one by one on top of each other.

The family said that the death toll would have been significantly higher if the quake struck an hour later when over 100 relatives were expected to be at the home.

Rescue efforts into the region are still being hampered although some of the villages next to the capital were able to get food and water.  One town 40 miles from the capital, Sipa Ghat, was reported by the Wall Street Journal to still be without any relief at all including food and clean drinking water.

“We are trying to send rescue teams. We are trying our best to clear the roads,” said Kamal Singh Bam, a spokesman for Nepal’s national police. “There is a problem with distribution to people who are not in Katmandu.”

The situation is still critical in the capital as doctors say they are running out of medication and medical supplies.

Nepal Death Toll Over 5,000; Survivors Struggling To Survive

The death toll from the weekend earthquake and aftershock in Nepal has flown past 5,000 and is not showing signs of slowing down as rescuers say it’s almost impossible to reach some of the more rural regions because of landslides.

The aid group Samaritan’s Purse says that at least 8 million people are in immediate need of food and water.  A spokesman said that many of the families have lost everything they owned and have no way to support themselves.

“There are a lot of people sleeping out in the streets,” said Samaritan’s Purse team leader Patrick Seger in a report from Tuesday. “They are fearful of the buildings and don’t want to sleep inside. They are sleeping in the rain because they don’t have any other shelter.”

The BBC reported that the government is attempting to provide free services to the residents but they have no way of providing to all those impacted.

“There’s a rush to get out of Kathmandu. Thousands of people are trying to flee — some trying to head out to the remote districts to see how their families are, others including tourists trying to head toward India by road,” BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder said.

“But there simply aren’t enough buses to take them out and the highways are choked with vehicles, people and relief convoys. Tempers are flaring. The police came to the bus station to restrain those trying to board crowded buses, which made it worse.”

The Gorkha district, where the epicenter was located, is out of food.

“We haven’t had any food here since the earthquake,” said Sita Gurung, whose lost his home in Gorkha. “We don’t have anything left here.”

An Army spokesman told reporters they are trying their best to reach the region but admitted remote areas are trapped by terrain.

The Expected Unexpected

On Monday morning, April 27th, the people of Baltimore woke to a normal Monday morning.  There was tension in the air from the recent demonstrations that the city had been experiencing. But most families, I would imagine, were not thinking about riots and looting or fires and destruction.  People woke up, had their breakfast, got their children to school and went to work.  Most were not prepared for what was to come. Continue reading →