Aftershocks prevent ‘closure’

Hospitals struggled to cope with the thousands being rushed for surgery, following Saturday’s devastating 7.9-magnitude temblor, the nurses and doctors working non-stop. On Sunday, many were treated out in the open due to lack of beds and space to accommodate the injured.

As the international community rushed assistance to Nepal, the government declared a national calamity. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala made a frantic appeal for blood donation. But even as officials urged people not to go by wild rumours, there was a rush on shops to buy food and essential items.

“Our country is in a moment of crisis,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Minendra Rijal said. “We have launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation action plan. We will require tremendous support,” he said.

The police headquarters put the latest toll at over 2,500, including 1,152 who perished in Kathmandu. The number of injured is estimated at nearly 6,000. Many lost their limbs as tonnes of debris collapsed on them. 

It is the worst quake to hit Nepal after the one in 1934 that killed some 8,500 people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level meeting in New Delhi to oversee the Indian efforts. 

“I can understand what the people of Nepal are going through,” he said, recalling his experience with the 2001 Gujarat quake. “My dear brothers and sisters of Nepal, we are with you.”

Thousands of men, women and children spent Saturday night out in the open, facing the prospect of spending another night without shelter. 

Many lay on plastic sheets or cardboard boxes wrapped in blankets. Most ate instant noodles and cookies to ward off hunger. The UN said that hospitals were running out of rooms to store bodies and medical supplies.

Indian rescue teams on Sunday reached the epicentre of the devastating earthquake but found that despite extensive damage to property, the number of deaths was fewer than expected. The epicentre lay in Lamjung, about 75 km northwest of Kathmandu. 

Defence Secretary RK Mathur said in Delhi, “We have rescued 141 people in the area and moved them to hospitals in Kathmandu.”

The Indian Air Force flew back 1,342 Indians from Nepal. It also took food packets, tents, medicines, blankets and medical teams to Nepal. The Indian Army said it planned long-term operations in Nepal. 

Army Chief General Dalbir Singh, who belongs to Gorkha regiment, said “There are a large number of ex-servicemen living in Nepal. We are specially concerned... We are sending teams to asses the situation.”

Even as an army of soldiers, police personnel and other officials were frantically engaged in relief work, another powerful temblor occurred on Sunday afternoon, causing aftershocks again in India, Bhutan and Tibet.

Thirty-nine aftershocks have hit Nepal since the first earthquake. 

The United Nations office said around 6.6 million people have been affected. 

The disaster appeared to spare none, VVIPs included. 

President Ram Baran Yadav spent Saturday night in a tent after the quake caused several cracks in his office-cum-residence.