News of Disaster from all over the land

By the 26 April, the official death toll had exceeded 3000, with government sources predicting that the final toll could climb above 10,000. The United Nations reported that 8 million people would be directly affected by the earthquake, with 1.4 million in urgent need of food aid and shelter. Transport and infrastructure were severely affected and tent cities were setup across most affected areas, with governments from as far as Australia and the UK providing relief aid.

Although Kathmandu airport reopened shortly after the quake, most flights that arrived and departed were part of the relief effort, with the Indian, Australian and British air forces providing aircraft to deliver aid and to transport their citizens to the nearest safe destination for transfers home. Many roads were damaged or blocked by landslides across the affected area and large parts of central Nepal were without electricity or phone connections.

What many of the local people felt most was the dwindling supply of food and potable water. Even waterborne diseases were being reported around the Kathmandu Valley, with health experts issuing warnings about the risk of epidemics due to the consumption of contaminated food and drink. The problems were most evident in rural villages and in the

shanty towns occupied by poor families in and around Kathmandu, where houses were simply not built strongly enough to withstand the force of the quakes.