Three million lack permanent shelter a year after Nepal earthquake

A year after Nepal was devastated in an earthquake, 3 million people are still without permanent shelter and some marginalized groups have missed out on vital relief.

Aid agency Save the Children says about 600,000 families in Nepal continue to live under tarpaulins, bridges and in unsafe buildings in the wake of the magnitude 7.8 quake which hit on April 25 last year. Almost 9000 people were killed in the disaster and about 900,000 homes destroyed or damaged.

The scale of the disaster and logistical problems caused by Nepal’s mountainous terrain and limited road infrastructure have made relief and rehabilitation difficult. Surveys taken during the relief phase found two-thirds of quake victims did not have the information need to get relief and 61 per cent “thought aid was not being provided fairly”, the report said.

Save the Children country director Delailah Borja said, “No formal rebuilding program has commenced in the past 12 months, and that’s in part due to the sheer scale of the disaster and the massive logistical challenges in an extremely mountainous region. Millions of families are still living in the temporary shelter supplied by aid agencies months ago, having already braved a very cold winter and are now facing the prospect of another monsoon season, which will start in June.”

[The Age]

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.