Aid groups warn of crisis in earthquake-hit Nepal

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Aid groups warn of crisis in earthquake-hit Nepal

In this Oct. 20, 2015 photo, a Nepalese boy flies a kite standing on the debris of houses that collapsed in the April 25 earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal. AP photo

Bhaktapur, Nepal - There is no sign of the government-promised new houses that were to shelter millions of victims of Nepal's devastating spring earthquake.

By AP

Published: Fri 6 Nov 2015, 9:24 AM

Last updated: Fri 6 Nov 2015, 11:28 AM

The agency that was supposed to oversee billions of dollars in spending no longer exists. And border protests continue to prevent needed supplies from getting in.
Aid groups are warning of a crisis unfolding in Nepal as winter approaches, especially for the many of the estimated 400,000 Nepalis who live at elevations of 1,500 meters (4,920 feet) or higher.
Some are still living in temporary shelters in camps across the country, though there is no official number. Their tents and huts built with tin sheets protected them from the monsoon rain but will be little match for the snow and below-freezing temperatures expected in mountain villages by the end of November.
"This is a crisis within a crisis. It is very obvious that lot of people are going to get sick. These people are in basic shelters that are not ready for winter," said Harris Nyatsanza, emergency response manager of humanitarian agency Plan International.
"With winter only weeks away, the international donor community is unable to deliver vital relief and shelter supplies to many vulnerable communities," the U.S. Embassy in Nepal said in a statement Thursday. "Lives are at stake, and we are concerned that a humanitarian crisis may result."
Many of those who have been living in temporary housing since the April 25 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks are in villages accessible only by foot. Many of these villages will be unreachable during the winter months.
"It is going to be very difficult, especially for the young and old with respiratory infections. We already see respiratory infections and we are going to see deaths too," said Jeffrey Shannon of Mercy Corps, another aid agency helping Nepalese earthquake survivors.