Nepal quake aid effort stepped up

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Nepal earthquake: International aid effort increased

International efforts to bring more aid to Nepal are being increased, as the death toll from Saturday's massive earthquake reached 3,726.
More than 6,500 were injured and thousands are living in tents after their homes were destroyed.

Dozens of people are also reported to have been killed in neighbouring China and India.
At least 200 climbers have now been rescued around Mount Everest, after the quake triggered avalanches.
Vast tent cities have sprung up in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, for those displaced or afraid to return to their homes. Thousands spent Sunday night - their second night - outside.

There are shortages of water, food and electricity, while disease is also a concern.
"We urge foreign countries to give us special relief materials and medical teams," Nepal's government Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudel said.
China and India have sent emergency teams, along with Pakistan, which said it was dispatching four C130 transport planes carrying a 30-bed hospital. Other countries, including Britain, Australia and New Zealand are also contributing.
However, congestion at Kathamandu's airport has caused delays, with Indian TV reporting that an Indian relief flight was forced to turn back.
United Nations World Food Programme spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told AFP that the agency planned "a large, massive operation".



Much of the effort is now turning to recovery of bodies in and around Kathmandu



Cremations are taking place near a river in Kathmandu



Officials have warned that the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams reach remote mountainous areas of western Nepal.
Many communities, especially those close to mountainsides, are believed to have suffered significant quake damage.

"Villages like this are routinely affected by landslides, and it's not uncommon for entire villages of 200, 300, up to 1,000 people to be completely buried by rock falls," said Matt Darvas, spokesman for aid agency World Vision.
A man evacuated by helicopter to Pokhara, 200km from Kathmandu, said almost every home in his village of more than 1,000 houses had been destroyed, Mr Darvas told the BBC.

In Dhading district, 80km west of Kathmandu, people were camped in the open, the hospital was overflowing, the power was off and shops were closed, Reuters news agency reported.
A senior official in Gorkha district, the location of the earthquake's epicentre, told AP he had heard reports of 70% of houses being destroyed.

Among villages affected are some inhabited by Tibetans, many of whom have sought refuge in Nepal. Bridim, north of Kathmandu, is reported to have been virtually flattened.
Rescuers are continuing to recover bodies from under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kathmandu.



At the scene: Sanjoy Majumder, Kathmandu

After a cold and wet night, the skies have cleared over Kathmandu allowing rescue teams to continue working. But it is becoming harder for the hundreds of thousands sheltering out in the open. Many are staying in very basic tents with little protection.
Water is becoming scarce and there are fears that children in particular could be at risk of disease. Even residents of some of the city's smarter neighbourhoods are
sleeping on carpets and mattresses outside their homes.

Aid flights are coming in rapidly and in fact Kathmandu airport is running out of parking bays, so many aircraft are having to wait before getting permission to land.
And at the Pashupatinath temple, one of the city's oldest, cremations have been taking place since the morning. As the death toll rises, the authorities are keen on disposing of the bodies as quickly as possible to prevent a health hazard.

In pictures: Devastation after the quake
Quake 'was anticipated'



Hospital patients were among those moved outside over the weekend Clearer weather on Monday allowed more helicopters to head to Base Camp on Mount Everest.
Foreign climbers and their Nepalese guides were caught by the tremors and a huge avalanche that buried part of the camp. At least 18 were killed by avalanches.
Belgian climber Jelle Veyt tweeted that helicopters had been removing climbers from camps 1 and 2 to Base Camp throughout Monday morning.



Helicopters have continued evacuating climbers from Everest



Rescuers have been able to take injured people off Mount Everest

Nepal's ruined monuments



The quake destroyed several major monuments

• 19th Century 200-step Dharahara tower in Kathmandu reduced to stump
• Durbar Square in Old City badly damaged
• In Bhaktapur, country's best preserved ancient city, 16th-Century Vatsala Durga and many other buildings destroyed
• Several buildings in Patan's 3rd Century Durbar square razed
• Destruction "culturally speaking an incalculable loss" - Nepali Times editor Kunda Dixit

Nepal's architectural jewels destroyed


The longer term cost of rebuilding in Nepal has been put at $5bn (£3bn) by US-based consultancy, IHS - around 20% of GDP.
There are 14 international medical teams on the way to Nepal, the UN says, and up to 15 international search-and-rescue teams have been sent.
The UN children's agency says nearly one million children in Nepal urgently need humanitarian assistance as they were particularly vulnerable.


Dead or missing foreigners

Australia: 549 Australians registered as travelling in Nepal, 200 confirmed safe
Bangladesh: 50 nationals, including members of the country's under-14 girls' football team, evacuated. No information on exact number of nationals in Nepal
China: Four nationals dead in Kathmandu, Xinhua news agency reports
Colombia: Seven nationals missing
France: French authorities have located 1,098 nationals, but another 674 are still not in touch
India: Five killed in Nepal
UK: Several hundred Britons believed to be in Nepal. No reports of casualties but some missing.
US: Three Americans killed
Victims from other countries include a dead Estonian national and a Japanese man killed.
Dozens of Britons among the missing


BBC News