The earth in Nepal was shaking again

Sipapokhari, Kathmandu, Bratislava, May 12, 2015 – Two weeks after the devastating earthquake killed more than 8,000 people, Nepal was struck again with magnitude 7.3 quakes again. The epicenter was 18 km southeast of Kodari, near the base camp on Mt. Everest at a depth of 18 kilometres. Team members of the Slovak humanitarian organization MAGNA Children at Risk (MAGNA) providing aid directly in the field are all safe. In this new situation, help from Slovakia is even more important.

Today’s earthquake struck further areas of Nepal, and also those already affected. A strong quiver swept through the area of Sindhupalchowk, where the Slovak humanitarian organization MAGNA Children at Risk was the only active organization for several days. According to the district offices, almost 63,885 houses are destroyed in the area. The quakes could be felt even in the capital Kathmandu. “In Kathmandu, the panic broke loose. We were all running out to the streets, looking for safety in the open of one of the squares, people were screaming for help. Everything was shaking, the buildings were moving. Some people were holding to the pillars. Everything is closed at the moment, people are trying to contact their loved ones, but the connection is poor, so everyone is going home to look at all the damage and search for their family and friends. We are expecting some more earthquakes tonight. Everybody is stressed and fears what is coming. The MAGNA teams are fine, everyone is looking for their relatives,” informs Karin Slováková, field worker from humanitarian organisation Magna Children at Risk, currently staying in Nepal.

MAGNA has currently 2 international workers in Nepal. Local teams consist of 15 mainly medical workers. For the last couple of days they have been providing medical and psychosocial help in the district of Sindhupalchowk, particularly in Sipapokhari village. In the affected area the unit is providing predominantly basic medical care supplemented with specialised care for psychological and social health. At the moment, the team is helping more than 900 families, whose situation is very critical.

After the second earthquake, fear and trauma of the affected children and their families worsened. Many are still in shock not realising what has happened. Immediately after the earthquakes, the medical workers started to provide basic medical care. Some victims from the first wave of earthquakes had problems with infected wounds caused by poor hygiene. The MAGNA team was organising a training in the field of mental health for the local medical staff when the earthquakes stroke.

The operational department in Bratislava which coordinates work of the teams in the field contacted its members just a few minutes after the latest earthquake and is coordinating their next steps. The importance of medical and psychosocial help, as well as of material help is even greater now. Movement of the rescue and of the field workers in the affected areas is going to be even more difficult now than before. Many of the uncovered roads could have got covered again.