UNHCR rushes aid to Nepal following earthquake

UNHCR is on the ground in Nepal, offering support to the survivors and making critical aid items immediately available to those in need.

As of now we have 108 support staff in the field. UNHCR is the only agency in the 3 eastern provinces of Nepal that have been experiencing additional damage from aftershocks in the country.

12-year-old Nanu Tatya standing in front of a rubble in Bhaktapur in the outskirts of Kathmandu. Nanu is still scared from the earthquake. She was too afraid to speak about the massive quake and the aftershocks. Her relatives said her house had been destroyed and she was living in a plastic tent with her family. / UNHCR / Brian Sokol / 29 April 2015

Our aid lorries delivering ‪#‎NepalEarthquake‬ relief by hand, where landslides prevented vehicle access.

An airlift of UNHCR relief supplies is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu today from our warehouse in Dubai. These supplies will help to boost the aid we've already deployed to earthquake-affected areas from our in-country stocks.

The UN refugee agency is sending thousands of plastic sheets and solar-powered lamps to people left homeless and without light by the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

Saturday's quake, recorded at 7.8 on the open-ended Richter scale, killed at least 4,000 people and left thousands more injured, according to latest estimates and media reports. Numbers are expected to rise. Many lost their homes and are living in the open or in tent settlements.

UNHCR is today responding to a government call for help by sending 11,000 plastic sheets and 4,000 solar-powered lanterns from its warehouse in Damak, eastern Nepal, to the eastern hilly districts of Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga and Sindhuli.

Later Monday afternoon, an additional 8,000 plastic sheets and 4,000 solar lamps are being flown to Kathmandu from Dubai on a cargo flight provided free of charge by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The plastic sheets will be used to construct or repair shelters and the lamps will provide light at night.

"We are deeply saddened that thousands of people have been killed, injured or displaced in the disaster. These numbers are still rising with frequent aftershocks and as search-and-rescue teams reach remote areas," said Daisy Dell, director of UNHCR's Asia-Pacific bureau. "UNHCR stands in solidarity with Nepal, which has been a generous host to thousands of refugees over the years," she added.

UNHCR has been working with the Nepali government since the early 1960s to care for refugees from the region and beyond. There are currently more than 21,000 refugees originating from Bhutan in two camps in eastern Nepal, and some 650 refugees and asylum-seekers in and around Kathmandu.

This article was originally posted on unhcr.org.

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