KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Shock turned to anger in Nepal today, as some of the tens of thousands of people stricken by the weekend’s devastating earthquake expressed frustration at what they said was their government’s slow response to the crisis.
International aid has finally begun to arrive in the Himalayan nation of 28 million people, as the death toll topped 3,900 people.
About 6,500 more people were injured in Nepal’s most deadly quake in 81 years. It triggered a huge avalanche on Mount Everest that killed at least 17 climbers, including foreigners, the worst single disaster on the world’s highest peak.
A series of aftershocks, severe damage from the 7.9 magnitude quake, creaking infrastructure and a lack of funds have slowed the disbursement of aid to those most in need.
The head of neighbouring India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), one of the first foreign organisations to arrive in Nepal to help in the search and rescue effort, said finding survivors and the bodies of the dead would take time.
NDRF Director General O P Singh said heavy equipment could not fit through many of the narrow streets of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.
“You have to remove all this rubble, so that will take a lot of time … I think it’s going to take weeks,” he told Indian television channel NDTV late yesterday.
For a third night, many people across the country slept in the open, their homes either flattened or threatened by tremors that spread more fear among a traumatised population.
In Kathmandu, as elsewhere, thousands are sleeping on pavements, roads and in parks, many under makeshift tents.
Hospitals are full to overflowing, while water, food and power are scarce, raising fears of waterborne diseases.
With aid slow to reach many of the most vulnerable, some Nepalese were critical of the government.
“The government has not done anything for us,” said Anil Giri, who, along with about 20 volunteers, was looking for two of his friends presumed buried under rubble. “We are clearing the debris ourselves with our bare hands.”
Nepalese officials acknowledged they were overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.
“The big challenge is relief,” said Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudel, the country’s top bureaucrat. “We urge foreign countries to give us special relief materials and medical teams. We are really desperate for more foreign expertise to pull through this crisis.”
The situation is worse in remote rural areas. Key highways have been blocked by landslides, and many villages and communities are without water and electricity, surviving on salvaged food and with no outside help.
While aid has begun arriving in the capital, including food, medical supplies, tents and dogs trained for rescue efforts, the authorities are struggling to deliver relief further afield. Time is running out to find survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings. In the north of Kathmandu, survivors suspended their search for the night, with plans to resume early today. “We cannot look for missing people … with a candle in our hands,” said Amarnath Prasad, 26, a musician who was helping his best friend look for his missing mother.
“She loved me like her son, and I think it is my duty to find her, dead or alive,” said Prasad.
Families and friends of the victims lit hundreds of funeral pyres in towns and the countryside.
Foreign countries escalated efforts to get medical equipment, medicine, food, water, blankets, tents and search and rescue teams into Nepal, but chaotic scenes at the country’s main international airport slowed the flow of aid.
India and China were among the first contributors to an international effort to support Nepal’s stretched resources.
The United States yesterday announced an additional $9 million in aid for Nepal, bringing total US disaster funding to $10 million.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said two C-17 US Air Force transport planes carrying search-and-rescue personnel and supplies were headed to Nepal.
