Nepal quake: Aid groups describe chaotic scenes

Irish aid agencies on the ground in Nepal have described scenes of chaos after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday.

The quake 68km west of the town of Namche Bazaar, close to Mount Everest, caused widespread panic and came after a devastating tremor killed more than 8,000 people about two weeks ago.

“This is devastating for the people of Nepal,” Concern humanitarian adviser Ros O’Sullivan said.

“Families have just started to feel safe going back indoors at night. They have experienced a serious trauma and this morning’s earthquake has made everyone extremely nervous.”

Kieran McConville, also of Concern, said: “We were standing on the side of a hill in Bhirkot when the earthquake happened. In the valley below I could see dust rising from the houses as they were collapsing. The earthquake two weeks ago damaged those houses and this one destroyed them.”

Goal’s Nepal country director Dr Raj Singh also said aftershocks are giving rise to concerns that damaged buildings could collapse. “From where I am standing, I can see cracks in several buildings and there is a real fear of buildings collapsing,” he said.

Lucky to be alive

Humanitarian manager with Oxfam Ireland Colm Byrne was in the Chautara area in the Sindhupalchowk province, about 40km from the quake’s epicentre, and said he felt lucky to be alive.

“I am in a rural area which was rocked by this morning’s quake. It was very powerful. The ground was shaking and buildings were collapsing. I’ve also seen people being carried on stretchers,” he said.

“We are lucky to be alive – five minutes earlier or later and it could have been a different story.”

He added: “People are too afraid to sleep in their homes so one of the things Oxfam is trying to do is to provide spaces for people to sleep outdoors. One of the big challenges is that this a hugely mountainous country with very few large, flat open air spaces where people can gather safely.”

Niall Kavanagh, a photographer who lives in Swoyambhu, about 80km from the epicentres of both quakes, said the most recent one came as a shock.

“We had two weeks of aftershocks after the major quake so we were all just getting into the mood of normality,” he said.

He added that although the most recent quake was strong, it was considerably weaker than last month’s earthquake.

“It was strong today but it was nothing like the other one,” he said. “If you go from a seven to an eight on the Richter scale, an eight is 10 times more powerful than a seven and a seven is 10 times more powerful than a six. You only have to go up a few notches and you have a totally different experience.”

All Irish people reported missing in the aftermath of last month’s 7.8 magnitude quake have been accounted for. This time, a spokesman from the Department of Foreign Affairs said no Irish casulaties have been reported as yet.