Shilu Manandhar, GPJ, Nepal
Chitra Kumari Rana Magar inspects her brother-in-law’s house.
Global Press Journal’s team in Nepal is providing ongoing coverage of the aftermath of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that on April 25 shook the capital city of Kathmandu and other areas of the country. The official death toll, which is rising every day, stood at more than 4,600 on April 28; some reports say more than 6,000 people have died. Members of the GPJ Nepal team shot these photos in their home neighborhoods, at sites they know well, and in public open spaces where evacuees are living because their homes have been destroyed or are unstable.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
A suspended bridge leads to Kalleri VDC in Dhading district. Locals say that there are around 700 houses in this area, but only bikes and people on foot can pass via the bridge.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Almost all the houses in Kalleritar and Suntar were reduced to rubble due to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Padam Lal Shrestha, 35, and his mother, Dewa Kumari Shrestha, 72, sit with a neighbor outside a temporary shelter they built in Suntar village.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Almost all the houses in Kalleritar and Suntar were reduced to rubble during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Villagers mourned the loss of their homes, many of which were built piece by piece as homeowners hauled materials across the foot bridge that leads to several villages in the Kalleri VDC.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
After the earthquake, villagers gathered their animals and kept them together for safety.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Hume Devi Rana Magar, 69, sits outside, away from her damaged house. “She cannot move her hands or legs,” her son, Krishna Bahadur Rana Magar, says. . “When the earthquake came, I carried her and got her outside to safety.”
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Krishna Bahadur Rana Magar and his wife Chitra Kumari Rana Magar stand in front of what is left of their home.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
It's not clear how many people lost their homes in Nepal during the April 25 quake. Aid organizations and government officials have struggled to reach the country's more remote regions.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
A buffalo belonging to Krishna Bahadur Rana Magar’s family injured its back during the earthquake. Since then, it has not been able move. “Tears fill my eyes when I look at it,” Chitra Kumari Rana Magar says.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Countless homes and other buildings remain unstable, weeks after the April 25 quake.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Chitra Kumari Rana Magar inspects her brother-in-law’s house.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Brothers Ayush Rana Magar, 5, and Abhishek Rana Magar, 4, play inside the damaged home of their cousin despite being warned not to do so by their relative Chitra Kumari Rana Magar.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Children play in the rubble left by the April 25 earthquake.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
The school buildings of Shree Saraswati Vidhyalay in Suntar village were damaged by the earthquake.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Villagers don't know when school will begin again, as their school building was destroyed in the quake.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Bikram Nepali, 13, was a sixth-grade student at Shree Saraswati Vidhyalay. “I want to come study but it will take two to three months to make my school,” he says. “It may even take a year. I will spend my time making my house.”
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
A man from Suntar village buys tin to repair his house.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Villagers built temporary shelters near Kalleritar.
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Shanti Sharma Acharya, 26, from Jyameri Bhanjyang in Nilkantha Municipality stands outside the tent she now calls home. Acharya works in a finance company in Kathmandu. “We have food,” she says. “We need help to rebuild our house. If government gives money then we will rebuild our house.”
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Laxmi Aryal, 32, stands outside her damaged house with her daughter Anjali, 9. A teacher whose husband works in Dubai, Aryal has three houses in Jyameri Bhanjyang in Nilkantha Municipality.. “I don’t know if we will rebuilt all three houses,” she says. “At least one, we will rebuild. My husband will send money from Dubai.”
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Chameli Bika, 52, sits outside her damaged house with her youngest children, Bimala Bika, 9, and Bikram Bika, 11. Bika has five sons and five daughters. “When the earthquake came, I was washing dishes,” she says. “I gathered everyone and we ran out. After the earthquake, we are living with 24 other people under one plastic sheet. No one has come to help us. My husband has gone down to the bridge because we heard that someone was coming to distribute plastic sheets.”
Shilu Manandhar, GPJ Nepal
Bibha Ramtel, 60, has been waiting by the bridge since morning. She heard that people were coming to distribute plastic sheets. “I need a place to hide from the earthquake,” she says. “I need a plastic sheet.” No one came, and she returned to the village empty-handed.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
Soldiers and other first responders continue to bring injured quake survivors to Bir Hospital in Kathmandu.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
Suresh Pathak, 34, a chapati and panipuri vendor, stays in a tent with his family. The lack of toilets is creating a serious sanitation problem in his encampment. “If I go to my house, I have fear of (an) earthquake coming again,” he says. “And on the other hand, I spend each night worried about the possibility of diseases that would spread due to the foul smell and sewage.”
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
A scene near Tundikhel, one of Kathmandu's tent cities for earthquake evacuees.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
People wait on the roads near New Road in Kathmandu.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
Injured people are left outside Bir Hospital in Kathmandu.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
Kathmandu residents moved outdoors to large open spaces en masse to avoid being stuck inside if an aftershock hits.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
The west gate of Tundikhel, an open space used for fairs and military parades, was damaged in the April 25 earthquake. The grounds are now filled with tents occupied by evacuees.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
One of countless homes destroyed by the earthquake.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
Families live in tents in Kathmandu's open spaces.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
Daily life has moved outdoors in Kathmandu. People avoid going indoors for fear of aftershocks.
Kalpana Khanal, GPJ Nepal
People who evacuated to live in tents worry that food, water and other supplies will run out. Some say the government has failed to provide for them.
