Background and recap
"Around midday on April 28th, 2015, a subterranean block of rock, eight times the size of Berlin, triggered a strong earthquake in Nepal. The quake had the power of a 150 meter thick meteorite and displaced entire villages.
The block advanced three meters within 30 seconds. It rattled almost level across the bedrock beneath but jammed up again and again, shaking the ground over 1000 kilometers afar. Within a 300 km radius, the ground was shaken so heavily that thousands of buildings collapsed. The ground slid southward - Kathmandu and adjacent places now find themselves three meters further south than before the earthquake. There were hundreds of aftershocks and still today the earth has not yet calmend down completely.
Primarily affected are the regions around Kathmandu, Gorka, Langtang and also the road connecting with Tibet. In these regions death toll was highest, important connections are destroyed. Overall, the earthquake killed ca. 9000 victims and made 2.8 million people homeless.“ - translated from Süddeutsche Zeitung Online, viewed on 08/07/2015
The rain season beginning in May has made the situation even worse. Hygiene problems, diseases, malnutrition, aftereffects of traumatic experiences and uncertain future prospects of those affected are consequences of the catastrophe. Especially the children suffer from them badly.
Major organizational insufficiencies of the government but also of donating countries and the many NGOs in the country, often hampered effective direct help for the population. On the other hand, it is admirable how much already could be achieved by little means, saving or easing lives of many people. The personal commitment of the locals is very high inspite of the horrid experiences.
To be noted on the positive side is the necessity for the government to decree new regulations on earthquake safety which it receives international support for. The promise however to issue within two months dependable basic conditions for earthquake-safe new buildings and renovations could not be kept. Consultations are still going on, and a construction stop that has been imposed will presumably last till end of August - if not longer.
Luckily, all our children and their families have survived and have a shelter to stay under. Unfortunately, one family has lost its house.
