9:00 a.m. April 28
Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said Tuesday that the number of people killed in the April 25 earthquake exceeds 5,000 and听could amount to听10,000听or more as recovery efforts continue, . Roughly 8 million people in Nepal鈥攁bout a quarter of the country鈥檚 entire population鈥攈ave been affected.
The cost to rebuild Nepal and take several years, Nepal鈥檚 Finance Minister Ram Mahat told Bloomberg.
4:35听p.m. April 27
Mountain villages in Nepal stricken by the quake are struggling in the aftermath and haven't received aid or food, .
“Whatever relief each of us felt at being off the mountain was quickly replaced with sadness and awe at the destructive power on evidence all around us.” RMI guide Dave Hahn, who has summited Everest 15 times, and his team were rescued from Camp 1 by helicopter on the morning of April 27 and brought down to Base Camp.听Hahn recounted the day's events in .
2:50听p.m. April 27
Numerous say the death toll in Nepal has surpassed 4,000 and is expected to continue rising significantly as recovery efforts continue.
The United Nations that it is pledging $15 million from its emergency response fund to provide water, shelter, and medical supplies to earthquake survivors in Nepal. An estimated 8 million people have been affected, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday.
UNESCO says in the coming days it will , which have been hit hard in Nepal, especially those in Kathmandu Valley. “In particular, Durbar Squares of Patan, Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu) and Bhaktapur are almost fully destroyed,” according to an .
: We will assess the devastating impact on Nepal鈥檚 cultural heritage
鈥 UNESCO (@UNESCO)
Dr Nima thanks for the photo of the first of what we hope are many Heli evacs for our patients in base camp.
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Original News Post
At around 11:56 a.m. local time, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal,听leveling many of the country鈥檚 poorly constructed brick and stone buildings. The quake was centered about 50 miles northeast of the capital of Kathmandu, where thousands are presumed dead.
The Khumbu Region, home to Mount Everest and the Sherpa villages, were not spared from the devastation. Sherpas working on Everest鈥檚 north side were able to contact their families in the village of Phortse, where several houses were reported collapsed, some with people inside.
In Everest Base Camp, on the south side of the mountain, a massive ice avalanche coming off of Pumori (23,494 feet), which faces Everest, sent ice and other debri through tents,听killing and injuring climbers. According to reports from the mountain, at least 15 people are in critical condition. Meanwhile the . Climbers who were on the route or in Camps I听and II听have checked in reporting that they are safe but stranded. The route through the Khumbu Icefall has been destroyed and no helicopter flights were able to make the trip up the valley after the quake due to weather.
While doctors have been too busy caring for the injured to report in, radio traffic tells a story of a desperate situation. The Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) camp was badly damaged in the avalanche. Doctors and paramedics are currently using the International Mountain Guides camp as their base of operations. The Himalayan Experience camp is being used to house uninjured climbers who鈥檝e lost their camps.
When the sun comes up in Nepal in a few hours, it鈥檚 likely to rise on a scene of devastation not seen since the Haiti earthquake of 2008. Construction in Nepal is prone to collapse. In 1988, a magnitude 6.8 quake centered along the India-Nepal border killed roughly 1,500 people and injured more than 16,000.
Given the scale of the devastation, it鈥檚 hard to see how Everest鈥檚 climbing season can possibly continue. This would be the second year without a season following the deadly avalanche that killed 16 local workers on April 18, 2014.
Check back here for more coverage as the story develops.