“I think it went on for 40 or 50 seconds, and there was great silence. And that was followed by these huge roaring sounds on the mountains all around us, and of course, they were avalanches.”
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A rescue helicopter evacuating climbers prepares to land on 27 April, 2015. Credit: Nima Namgyal Sherpa/AP
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Gorkha district, some 80 kilometres northwest of the country’s capital, Kathmandu.
Nearly 9,000 people died and more than 20,000 were injured while homes, schools, hospitals and cultural heritage sites were reduced to rubble.
Survivors and evacuees in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal, on Sunday, 3 May 2015. Credit: AP
Kathmandu resident Thubman Singh Dura, who is currently visiting his children in Sydney, recalled living in an open field for a month following the quake.
“For around 31 days, we camped on a field.”
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Local and international relief work
A Royal Australian Air Force C17 unloading the first shipment of Australian aid in Kathmandu on Friday, 1 May 2015. Credit: PR IMAGE
In the days and weeks that followed, local communities and international organisations worked to deliver emergency aid and begin long-term recovery.
“With the help of pro bono engineering and architecture firms in Australia, we designed some earthquake-resistant schools and classrooms and ended up building 87 classrooms in 26 different schools in the region, using those earthquake-resistant designs, which are still being used today,” he told SBS Nepali.
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Simon Balderstone (third from the right) with REED Nepal CEO Bhim Bahadur Bogati (fourth from the right) at the Shree Garma Secondary School in Solukhumbu after its reconstruction in 2016. Credit: Supplied/Simon Balderstone
Andrew Judge, the current CEO of the Foundation, is confident about the future.
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“It did cement my dream to be a journalist and be able to work and share stories from overseas.”
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Tys Occhiuzzi (top row, fourth from the right) volunteering in Nepal in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake. Credit: Supplied/Tys Occhiuzzi
Calls for more rapid-response teams
“And also, a local workforce is vital in terms of skills and trades.”
Prince Harry with 86-year-old Pakuli Gurung and her eldest son in front of their new house foundations at Bhir Kuna on Monday, 21 March 2016. Credit: Ben Birchall/PA/Alamy
Chintan Manandhar agrees.
Manandhar said that while thousands now lived in permanent homes, Nepal still lacks the trained personnel to respond swiftly to future disasters, being an earthquake-prone zone.
To prepare for future disasters, every ward needs a well-equipped rapid response team, and we also need more awareness programs from time to time.
Chintan Manandhar
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Bom Bahadur Malla Thakuri shared similar sentiments.
“For about a year, municipalities and village development committees introduced a new policy requiring building approval through ward engineers, but now that seems to have been forgotten.”
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION WITH BOM BAHADUR MALLA THAKURI
