Kathmandu, Nepal – Nearly 9,000 people were killed and more than 900,000 homes damaged in last year’s deadly earthquake in Nepal. Nine months after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the challenges facing survivors have increased as cold weather sweeps through the mountainous country.
With delays in the establishment of a National Reconstruction Authority, which has stalled the rebuilding of homes, many survivors are facing a harsh winter living in thin tents or huts made from metal sheets and bamboo. The government said work on rebuilding nearly a million houses as well as the heritage sites destroyed in the earthquake would begin this month.
At least six earthquake survivors are reported to have died from the cold because of inadequate shelter. Young children and the elderly are especially vulnerable.
The government has started giving each family affected by the earthquake $100, but many say that is insufficient to buy warm clothes and everyday essentials.
Volunteers, local grassroots initiatives and non-profit organisations in Nepal have been working tirelessly to provide families with supplies to keep them warm through the winter.
READ MORE: Nepal earthquake survivors face winter’s cold