Nepal is still beset with delays in getting aid through to those affected by the disaster, with earthquake damage causing authorities to close its international runway to large aircraft.
Rescuers pulled three people alive out of the wreckage of their home yesterday, more than a week after the earthquake that has left more than 7,000 dead, a toll that looks set to rise again after fresh discoveries in remote regions.
There are more and more tent cities in Kathmandu, including on the city’s golf course and in the main stadium and there was a pronounced aftershock yesterday afternoon.
People are slowly returning to their homes, although many shops remain closed.
Aid provision remains a major problem across the area affected by the earthquake. There have also been growing tensions in some areas over the government’s perceived delays in allowing the delivery of relief material.
There is a bottleneck of relief materials building up at Tribhuvan International Airport due to a customs backlog. The government has lifted import taxes on tarpaulins and tents since the earthquake, but not on other relief items.
Supply trucks
There is also a shortage of supply trucks and drivers, many of whom had left the Kathmandu valley to help their families.
In Sindhupalchok, northeast of Kathmandu and one of the worst-hit areas in the country, three people were rescued from the rubble.
A 101-year-old man was pulled alive from the rubble of his house in in Nuwakot district, about 80km northwest of Kathmandu on Saturday. Funchu Tamang was rescued with only minor injuries and airlifted to a district hospital.
However, the entire village of Langtang, popular with trekkers, was wiped out by an avalanche, and 50 bodies were discovered.
None of the recovered bodies has been identified, said Pravin Pokharel, deputy superintendent of police in the northern district of Rasuwa.
Mr Pokharel, who led the police team, said the bodies were pulled out from under snow and ice on Saturday. Rescuers were to return to the remote area yesterday.
At least 200 people are still missing in Langtang, including villagers and trekkers, according to Uddhav Bhattarai, the most senior bureaucrat in the district.
He told Reuters: “We had not been able to reach the area earlier because of rains and cloudy weather.”
Death toll
Tulsi Prasad Gautam, the head of Nepal’s tourism department, said: “The death toll [of foreigners in Nepal] will go higher because in the Langtang area a significant number are still missing.”
A large contingent of US military aircraft and personnel arrived yesterday, a day behind schedule, including 100 soldiers, digging and lifting equipment, and six military aircraft, including two helicopters.
The total cost of Nepal’s reconstruction could be as high as €9 billion.
The United Nations estimates that eight million of Nepal's 28 million people were affected, with at least two million needing tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months.
An estimated three million Nepalese are displaced, although the true scale of the disaster is still unknown.
– (Additional reporting: Reuters)