Aftershocks Continue to Terrorize Nepalese as Rebuilding Efforts Begin

Aftershocks Continue to Terrorize Nepalese as Rebuilding Efforts Begin
By Kathleen Hendricks, Special to ASSIST News Service
KATHMANDU, NEPAL (ANS – June 16, 2015) -- Following the April 25th 7.9 and May 12th 7.3 earthquakes, at least five powerful aftershocks above 4.0 have rocked Nepal, the last one just yesterday (June 15, 2015).
Nearly 9,000 people have died and over 15,000 were injured since the quakes began.
From the cities to the remote villages people have been crying out for food, water and shelter. Many structures previously damaged from the first earthquake have now collapsed and declared uninhabitable by Nepal engineering experts, due to aftershocks.
On June 15th, another powerful aftershock of 4.1 rocked Kathmandu around 4 PM. This was confirmed by the geological center at www.disaster-report.com/.  This is the third large aftershock with Kathmandu at the center.
Pastor Kris Maharjan and his family in Kathmandu had just began to tear down their dwelling when the aftershocks occurred. In spite of the odds, Christians have begun to repair and rebuild churches and homes for their neighbors and villages, as the governments is giving $150 US per household for temporary shelter.
Kris’s son, Pragun said, “We in Kathmandu are living in fear daily. Please pray for us... that the earthquake shock would end. Then at 1:03 am today, we had terrible experience of another earthquake shock jolting us all awake in fear. Sometimes it’s hard to understand why we are in such misery here. Recently, here in Nepal, just to survive and escape from the earthquake death, has been our main activity. Thank you so much for praying for us. Please do continue to pray for us.”
He added, “We are praying for others; comforting them and, most of all, sharing God’s love, and forgiving them, as Jesus has forgiven us for our sins”.
Pragun also informed us, “We have begun with the top floor and also in the church we have begun to rebuild the cracked and damaged portions. We are working day and night to rebuild. For now, with loans from banks and a little savings, we have started the work but financially the condition is worsening day by day. All we have now is our hope and faith in Jesus.”
The United Nations has stated that approximately 2.8 million Nepalese people affected by the recent earthquakes are in need of humanitarian assistance. According to the UN, over 500,000 houses were destroyed and another 269,000 damaged by the quakes, and hundreds of thousands of people were still staying in makeshift shelters. The UN has estimated that 1.4 million people require food assistance, due to high damage to agriculture-based livelihoods.
On June 2nd and 3rd reports were as follows from the geological center in Nepal:
* Update at 3:50 PM Nepal Seismological Center has a recorded magnitude 5.2 aftershock in Dhading at 03:44 pm. The epicenter is located in between Marpak and Semjong village.
* Update at 1:35 PM, a magnitude 4.8 aftershock has been recorded in Gorkha/Dhading border region at 12:30 pm. The epicenter is located near Tripurasundari temple northeast of Salyantar.
* Update 8:45 AM, a magnitude 4.0 aftershock has been recorded in Gorkha at 08:30 am. The epicenter is located near Barpak.
* Two aftershocks of magnitude greater than four had been recorded in Nepal on May 29 and 30th. The Nepal Seismological Center, recorded a magnitude 4.2 aftershock, which rattled Dolakha at 00:37, just after midnight.
* On Friday morning at 05:20 am, a magnitude 4.2 aftershock was recorded in Dhading. At least 315 aftershocks were recorded in Nepal since the April 25th earthquake.
* The Nepal Seismological Center recorded another magnitude 4.0 aftershock in Kathmandu at 01:52AM on May 30th. The epicenter was located behind Nagarjuna Forest near Chhatre Deurali around 12 km NW of Kathmandu. It is in the border region of Dhading and Nuwakot.
* Two days earlier, a magnitude 4.0 aftershock was recorded in Kathmandu. The epicenter was located near Nakhu river south east of Bhaisepati.
One brave organization, Brand New Images International Association (BNIIA), has assisted in feeding families in the villages of Gorkha and Dhading, areas hard hit by the quake and nearly unreachable due to their remote location. Before the disaster BNIIA was impacting the region by assisting oppressed women and children. Their efforts will need to be multiplied now to help with the rebuilding in cities and remote areas.
You can give hope and healing to Nepal! Please click below to give and choose one or more of the following gifts for the people.
Please check out www.youcaring.com/criesofhimalayangirls  for ways you can help:
* $25 will provide food for one family of two for two weeks
* $50 will provide food for a family of four for 2 weeks
* $75 provides one tent for family of four
* $100 for tarp for many villagers to live under temporarily
* $500 repair of a church
* $1,000 rebuilding a village church
Two women have already made a big impact. You too can make a big difference!
The first is Dani, a young woman in her twenties has given to BNIIA for over a year and supports a family of orphans -- brothers and sisters -- in Nepal. She is a single mother who was in an auto accident and now without a vehicle, so works from her home.
The second is Ruth, who gave $1,000, and within two days of receiving her funds, BNIIA was able to feed an entire small village with enough food to last each family for one month, an unreachable village by government charities and NGOs.
Big organizations have a system in place to mobilize money for emergencies quickly, and small organizations locally are able to respond quickly to the meet the needs of the people.
Pastor Thapa from Dhading, a very remote village, was glad that BNIIA quickly came to his aid in spite of the difficulties and brought food to the villagers who had been without food for ten days.
Photo captions: 1) Man being rescued after earthquake. 2) A church destroyed in the earthquake. 3) Original living room of a Nepalese house. 4) The devastation of the room following the earthquake. 4) Demolition of the room.
About the writer: Kathleen Hendricks is a freelance writer and journalist living in SE Asia since 2006. She is also a member of the International Press Association. Kathleen Hendricks is a freelance writer and journalist living in SE Asia since 2006. She is also a member of the International Press Association.
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