Comment on Nepal Scrambles To Organize Earthquake Relief As Many Flee The Capital

Nepal Scrambles To Organize Earthquake Relief As Many Flee The Capital

By Gopal Sharma, Rupam Jain Nair and Ross Adkin KATHMANDU, Nepal, April 27 (Reuters) - Nepalese officials scrambled on Monday to get aid from the main airport to people left homeless and hungry by a devastating earthquake two days earlier, while thousands tired of waiting fled the capital Kathmandu for the surrounding plains. By afternoon, the death toll from Saturday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake had climbed to more than 3,700, and reports trickling in from remote areas suggested it would rise significantly. A senior interior ministry official said it could rise to as high as 5,000, in the worse such disaster in Nepal since 1934, when 8,500 people were killed. Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport was hobbled by many employees not showing up for work, people trying to get out, and a series of aftershocks which forced it to close several times since the quake. Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam was supervising aid delivery and arranging for passengers to leave the country. Government officials said they needed more supplies of food, medicines, specialized rescue services and body bags. "The morgues are getting totally full," said Shankar Koirala, an official in the Prime Minister's Office who is dealing with the disposal of bodies. Families lit funeral pyres for the dead in towns and across the countryside. Volunteers clear debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

 

Comment On This Story

Welcome to Wopular!

Welcome to Wopular

Wopular is an online newspaper rack, giving you a summary view of the top headlines from the top news sites.

Senh Duong (Founder)
Wopular, MWB, RottenTomatoes

Subscribe to Wopular's RSS Fan Wopular on Facebook Follow Wopular on Twitter Follow Wopular on Google Plus

MoviesWithButter : Our Sister Site

More Politics News