Hard hit by aftershocks, Nepal is flooded with wounded and … – publico

                 

                         
                     

                         
                     

                         

                 

 
                         

Nepal on Sunday continued to suffer seismic impacts in several areas, great shock replicas of magnitude 7.8 on Saturday that again alarmed the population and have further complicated the difficult rescue processes. A new earthquake of 6.7 on the Richter scale struck the country. It was the largest replica so far, although there have already been counted over 40 magnitude above 4 on the Richter scale. By mid-afternoon Sunday, counted by the 2500 dead and over 5,000 injured. Although no rescue teams had reached the most rural areas.

                     

                          The great replica Sunday has spread, as did Saturday’s earthquake, the vast mountain range of the Himalayas. The new earthquake claimed again avalanches in the mountains of Everest, which interrupted the rescue operations of the injured climbers on Saturday. In the highest mountain in the world remains the number of 18 deaths caused by the avalanche Saturday and about 60 injured.

Nepal, by itself, is unable to respond to the catastrophe. There are reports of violence in the streets of Kathmandu Valley, which are crammed with people, according to the testimony of an inhabitant to New York Times . Rescue operations are focused in this area, the most populous of the country and that killed more than 700 people.

But the day after the main shock, there were still many areas which had not yet come humanitarian support many in the vicinity of the epicenter, 80 kilometers from the capital. Only 17% of the population in Nepal live in urban centers and it is estimated that around 80% of fragile rural buildings have collapsed. “We are extremely concerned about the fate of communities in rural areas closer to the epicenter,” said in a statement Jagan Chapagain, the Director of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

Even operations in the Kathmandu Valley happened to a relatively slowly due to lack of technical and heavy material support. Images of people using their bare hands to reach survivors and bodies trapped in the rubble of buildings are common. The most hospitals treating the wounded on the streets. There is a risk that the earthquake replicas affect medical support buildings, but there is also a serious problem of lack of space. Public and private hospitals have no room where to deposit the bodies of the victims.

Reuters visited the university hospital building of Tribhuvan and described the scene. “The bodies are stacked in a dark room, some covered with fabric, some not. A boy who would have around seven years lost half his face and had a swollen belly like a soccer ball. The stench of death was overwhelming. ” On Sunday, the international agency Asia News published pyres of photographs used for mass cremations of victims.

Some humanitarian assistance has reached the country, mainly coming from neighboring countries. Mainly from India, that killed at least 50 people on Saturday. Sent to Nepal medical supplies and at least three hundred members of their rescue teams. Came also help China’s neighbor, who contributed a medical emergency team of 60 people, and Pakistan, and the assistance of humanitarian aid organizations.

But still, many of the promised aid and supplies not yet arrived and the reports arising from the humanitarian workers on the ground all point to the same: lack medical supplies. “For this new wave of patients probably will not be enough medication to reach the end of the day,” said Sunday Reuters Rashila Amatya, responsible for hospital Dhading district, east of Kathmandu.

Rain, cold and damp

Aftershocks continue to harass Nepal and can not anticipate its purpose or its magnitude. “There is no way to predict the intensity of the replicas, so people will have to be alert during the next few days,” said the head of the climate institute of India. Therefore, Nepal’s population was preparing for a second day in the open, outside fragile buildings and generally built without regard for safety rules.

With lack of medical care and thousands of people camped in the open, the weather conditions pose a serious problem for survivors. Temperatures are expected to drop to 14 degrees Celsius at night and are foreseen heavy showers and thunderstorms in various parts of the country. Rescue helicopters sent by India have had to stop rescue operations on Sunday because of the difficult weather conditions.

The United Nations began to warn of the risk of the spread of diseases in Nepal. In a report published on Sunday, the organization says that diarrhea has become a widespread problem in the Kathmandu Valley.