Kathmandu - Despite unrelenting efforts by rescuers to dig the rubble at various sites in Nepal, chances of finding survivors are getting slimmer since a week has passed after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck the country.
At least 7 000 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, with the number of injured exceeding 14 000. Over 600 000 buildings have collapsed nationwide and several heritage sites are damaged or destroyed.
Since Thursday, there have been no reports of survivors found under the rubble and the rescue teams, which bring with them sniffer dogs and life detectors, have only retrieved dead bodies.
The focus is gradually shifting to disaster relief.
Preliminary estimates put the demand of tents nationwide at 600 0000, with authorities distributing only 50 000 so far.
Relief supplies have reached the headquarters of all affected districts and it is expected that supplies will soon be airdropped to those remote villages cut off by landslides, Home Ministry spokesperson Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said.
The spokesperson appealed for members of the international community to send in more helicopters to help with the relief efforts.
Another challenge facing the quake-hit Himalayan country is the possibility of epidemics.
The United Nations warned earlier in a report that diarrhoea was already a growing problem and a measles outbreak was feared due to a shortage of vaccines. – SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
