Kathmandu: The death toll in the Nepal earthquake crossed 5,000 on Tuesday and the country’s prime minister warns it could touch double that figure soon.
At least 6,500 people have been listed as seriously wounded. Authorities are struggling to cope with the situation as aid efforts are pouring in from all over the world.
“Nepal’s underdeveloped communications system, and lack of government coordination, is such that many deaths will never be reported,” says Fr Boniface Tigga, superior of the Jesuits’ Nepal region.
According to him, hundreds of people were feared still trapped inside the debris of the collapsed buildings in Kathmandu. Information reaching Kathmandu suggested that many villages perched on mountainsides were devastated, Fr Tigga said in a report sent to his confreres.
According to him, the quake has seriously affected 29 of Nepal’s 75 districts.
“Although the government has intensified the rescue efforts in and around Kathmandu, lack of equipment and accessibility has made the rescue operations slow,” he said.
In the capital, he added, the government has announced free treatment to the victims. “But the hospitals are overcrowded and many are not in a position to offer treatment. The people are still in shock as the aftershocks continue.”
The earthquake has spread horror from Kathmandu to small villages and to the slopes of Mount Everest, triggering an avalanche that buried part of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing to make their summit attempts. At least 18 people died there and 61 were injured.
The main highways in and out of Kathmandu are blocked due to the landslides caused by the earthquake. This has hindered rescue teams that tried to use mountain trails to reach those in need, the Jesuit superior said.
Lack of coordination in rescue and relief operations is also causing problems. According to Fr Tigga, help is being rendered randomly.
On the Church’s part, it has engaged religious communities and those not affected by the quake in the rescue operations.
Fr Tigga said the Church people did not suffer deaths or serious injuries.
“There has been some damage to buildings at our institutions. When the risk of after-shocks has passed we will assess the situation more closely, in order to assure the safety of those we teach and serve,” the priest said.
He also said St. Xavier’s College has reached out to two remote villages in Dhading district providing tarpaulin sheets for tents and basic food material.
Many roads are blocked making it hard for the Church teams to reach many places.
The media has broadcast dramatic images of the massive destruction to the Kathmandu Valley’s temples and religious monuments. “The destruction of homes in outlying villages has been even more catastrophic than those places appearing in the news,” the Jesuit said.
Terrified to sleep in their damaged homes, the survivors have erected tents and make-shift shelters in open areas for the first two nights. “Throughout the night one could see people simply walking the streets, or huddled under blankets by the side of the road, for lack of shelter. Unseasonal rain has sent night-time temperatures plummeting, adding to the misery of those displaced.”
The Jesuit priest said the avalanches at Everest base camp got much media attention because well-equipped foreigners could send news via social media. “But it is the rural poor in districts around the epicenter who are suffering more profoundly,” the priest lamented.
The government has closed schools for five days. As shops and markets remained closed, prices essential commodities sky-rocketed. “Phone service and electricity in the heart of Kathmandu Valley have gradually become more available, after a complete cut-off on Saturday. The service is very intermittent,” he added.
Fr Tigga said water and food are their main concern now. “As stored food and water supplies diminish, suffering will increase. In addition to providing medical care to those who were severely injured, medical teams are concerned about the possible outbreak of diseases, especially cholera, because of damage to the water supply system,” the Jesuit letter noted.