Nepal Suffers Major Earthquake, Over 4000 Deaths

Nepal Suffers Major Earthquake, Over 4000 Deaths

Nepal, best known for Mount Everest, Royal Palaces and Hindu Temples suffered a 7.8-magnitude Earthquake on Saturday and several aftershocks since then. At this time the death toll is 4,000 and the number of those injured is 7,000 reported BBC.

Of Nepal’s 100,000 troops 90% are currently involved in search and rescue operations. The quake has brought on water, food and electricity shortages and fear of disease outbreak specifically for children.

Those climbing Mount Everest are being transported by helicopter two at a time because of the high altitudes. At this time it is unknown how many were killed by the avalanche that resulted due to the earthquake.

Lila Mani Poudyal, Nepal’s Government Chief Secretary, has said that Nepal is lacking in medical staff, relief materials such as tents, dry goods, blankets, mattresses and around 80 medicines. Poudyal added, “We don’t have the helicopters that we need or the expertise to rescue the people trapped. The need for doctors would grow as more survivors were pulled from the rubble.”

According to ZEE News, The US is sending $10 million in an effort to help relief victims. CNN Money has compiled a list of which countries, companies and nonprofit organizations are donating to Nepal.

There is a definite possibility for the death toll to rise since many communities located near mountains have been buried in rubble. Spokesman for World Vision, Matt Darvas, told BBC that “Entire villages of up to 1,000 people could have been buried by rock falls.”

The damage that has been done is unquantifiable, it has been estimated that about 70% of the homes at the epicenter of the quake have been destroyed.

Anyone interested in donating to relief efforts can find a list of legitimate organizations here.