Sudbury's Cody Walter reflects on surviving Nepal earthquake

Up North11:15Sudbury man talks about being in Nepal earthquake

Lively's Cody Walter was in Nepal hiking when the first quake struck and now, he's home safe.

On April 25, Cody Walter of Greater Sudbury was hiking in Nepal with his friend when a 7.8 earthquakehit that country.

Walter is now back home safe in Lively and is now looking to help those who helped him following the quake.

On that day, the pair were on a trail, almost at the place they were going to stay that night.

"We were out on a ridge when it happened," he said.

"It was a really foggy day."

Walter said when the earthquake hit, it sounded like a 'freight train.' Despite not being near the epicentre, the area Walter and his friend were in sustaineda lot of damage.

"When the ground started shaking, we could hear landslides and avalanches going off in basically every direction," he said.

Walter said he and his friend didn't know what to do, and tried to keep walking forward.

"As the shakes got stronger, we realized we had to hit the ground before we fell down," he said.

The pair met up with a guide on the trail who told them they should start making their way down the mountain they were on. They ended up in a village, Thulo Syabru.

"All of the buildings were either flattened or damaged," he said.

"So for shelter, the locals basically made tarp shelters out in a field."

Walter and his friend stayed in one of those tarp shelters for five days, until they could seek more help.

"It was tough," he said. "There were a few killed in that village, so we were exposed to that and saw some of the grieving process going on."

Walter said food became scarce, but people in the village were more than willing to share what they had.

Communication was another issue, as they couldn't let their families in Canada know they were safe following the earthquake.

"We knew we were going to be fine but we also knew that nobody else knew that," he said.

"That was really the focus of our days, was trying to get a message out and it was quite frustrating."

Walter and his friend eventually hiked to a larger community where they were able to get a ride into a major centre.

Looking to help

Walter has started an online fundraiser to help people in the community of Thulo Syabru.

"They need shelter," he said.

"The monsoon season is coming around the corner and as I understand, they're still out in the fields in their tents."

He added people in the village also need food and medicine.

Walter said he's glad to be back home, but added the experience won't keep him from visiting the country again.

"I look forward to going back and hopefully seeing the rebuilding efforts and how the Nepali people have rebounded from this."