Dozens of tents function as temporary shelters for earthquake victims in Laprak village in Gorkha district, Nepal. Courtesy of Oxfam

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25 left Nepal reeling, killing over 8,000 people, injuring more than 18,000 and leaving 2.8 million people without homes. There was much talk that this earthquake was expected, but it seems that no amount of preparedness will be enough to keep pace with the increasing disaster risk.

Just 17 days on, a second powerful earthquake struck again wreaking panic, destruction and loss. The sense of disbelief is palpable, but so too is the unstinting bravery and resilience of the Nepalese people. In my time here, I have met the most extraordinary people. In the camps set up in the green spaces of the Kathmandu city center, I met families whose homes are now basic tents shared with friends and neighbors; whose homes are simply not safe enough for them to return to.

When we travel less than an hour south of the city to the village of Sankhu, it looks like a bomb has been dropped. Homes are ripped apart with no real discernible shape. Families and neighbors are huddled in the ruins of homes, inside small buses or in the open air with improvised plastic sheeting as their only shelter. We hear stories of survival and stories of loss. We travelled out to Chautara in the Sindhupalchok region, the worst-affected district in Nepal. The hospital has been badly damaged, so the village sports field has been turned into a field hospital.

Children and elderly people wander around with very visible injuries and it'€™s hard to take it all in. Yet the spirit of people that we meet is unrelentingly cheerful. Small children ask questions in perfect English and chuckle as we try to reply in Nepali. A group of young people have relocated their community radio station to the hill overlooking the field and continue to broadcast as usual. Volunteers appear at lunchtime with huge cooking pots of rice.

My colleagues and I were caught up in an earthquake. A terrifying 30-40 seconds of shaking and screaming that for me was the single most frightening experience of my life. Luckily the part of Kathmandu we were in seems largely undamaged. People exchanged reassuring gestures and glances. They phoned their loved ones. Then, within minutes, people went back to their stalls, to their shops, to their vehicles.

Lisa Rutherford
Press Officer at Oxfam
Kathmandu

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