The USAID DART rescues a teen in Nepal five days after the earthquake. Photo by DART / USAID.The earthquake that struck Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley on April 25 continues to impact the region as the death toll mounts, having surpassed 7,000 on Sunday. Rescue efforts are winding down—of the 4,000 foreign rescuers to come to the region, only 2,000 remain, according to Nepal Home Ministry spokesperson Laxmi Prasad Dhakal. It’s assumed that no remaining survivors are to be found at this point, though three were found in an area north of Kathmandu on Sunday.
Meanwhile, as the New York Times reports, “[r]elief supplies for earthquake victims have been piling up at the airport and in warehouses here because of bureaucratic interference by Nepalese authorities.” As United Nations resident coordinator Jamie McGoldrick, notes, time is of the essence. “Planting season is six weeks away, and if you miss that you’ll need to deliver food aid for another three months. The monsoon is coming in eight weeks. So it’s very precarious.” There are many good organizations collecting funds for relief efforts; see updated list here.
Select related links:
NYT: Nepal Asks Foreign Rescuers to Leave as Hopes Fade (May 4)
Mashable: 101-year-old man pulled alive from Nepal rubble after one week (May 4)
NYT: Nepal’s Bureaucracy Is Blamed as Earthquake Relief Supplies Pile Up (May 3)
NPR: To Restore Its Shattered Treasures, Nepal Has A Secret Weapon (May 3)
NPR: In Nepal, Efforts Underway To Salvage Ancient Sites Damaged By Quake (May 3)
The Hindu: Nepal quake damages world’s oldest Buddhist shrine (May 3)
BBC: Nepal earthquake: Tourist captures panic as quake strikes UNESCO site (April 30)
Previous Lion’s Roar coverage:
After Nepal quake, Buddhists making a real difference
Pema Chödrön: join me in practicing tonglen for Nepal
Nepal: Buddhist monasteries’, teachers’ social-media updates
How you can help Nepal after the earthquake (Updated)
Catastrophic earthquake strikes Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley (Updated)
