AL Jazeera.com :
Nepal is marking the one-month anniversary of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed thousands of people and demolished more than half a million homes, most of them in rural areas cut off from emergency medical care.
The country remains perilously unstable with the risk of landslides from ongoing aftershocks, forcing thousands to leave their homes and camp out in open fields, just weeks before the start of seasonal monsoon rains.
Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from the capital Kathmandu, said evidence of the earthquake was everywhere to be seen.
“Rubble is lying in pockets across Kathmandu, tents have been erected in open spaces, and people are struggling to maintain daily life after being moved out from their homes from the repeated aftershocks,” he said.
Resham Shrestha, who lost his wife and infant son, told Al Jazeera that people in his village of Sanga Chowk were fearing further earthquakes.
Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis remain homeless one month on
“I would love to get my life back. But the repeated tremors have affected the mental state of everyone in the village. It’s not just me with my loss. It’s difficult to think of a plan to rebuild,” he said.
Nepal’s government estimates reconstruction costs of $7bn, a third of the country’s GDP, but with fears of corruption, it could take years to rebuild the country.
Nepal is marking the one-month anniversary of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed thousands of people and demolished more than half a million homes, most of them in rural areas cut off from emergency medical care.
The country remains perilously unstable with the risk of landslides from ongoing aftershocks, forcing thousands to leave their homes and camp out in open fields, just weeks before the start of seasonal monsoon rains.
Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from the capital Kathmandu, said evidence of the earthquake was everywhere to be seen.
“Rubble is lying in pockets across Kathmandu, tents have been erected in open spaces, and people are struggling to maintain daily life after being moved out from their homes from the repeated aftershocks,” he said.
Resham Shrestha, who lost his wife and infant son, told Al Jazeera that people in his village of Sanga Chowk were fearing further earthquakes.
Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis remain homeless one month on
“I would love to get my life back. But the repeated tremors have affected the mental state of everyone in the village. It’s not just me with my loss. It’s difficult to think of a plan to rebuild,” he said.
Nepal’s government estimates reconstruction costs of $7bn, a third of the country’s GDP, but with fears of corruption, it could take years to rebuild the country.
