URGENT: NEPAL EARTHQUAKE – YOU CAN HELP
A major earthquake has struck Nepal, causing massive damage. 5,000 are confirmed dead, and thousands have been injured. The epicenter of the quake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, was in a densely populated area near Kathmandu, and the impact has extended into northern India.
Oxfam aid workers are on the ground, preparing to launch a rapid response to ensure food and water reaches those in need. You can help rush aid to survivors in the wake of this disaster.
Donate now.
This morning we activated Safety Check for people affected by the earthquake in Nepal. It's a simple way to let family and friends know you're okay.
If you're in one of the areas affected by the earthquake, you'll get a notification asking if you're safe, and whether you want to check on any of your friends.
When disasters happen, people need to know their loved ones are safe. It's moments like this that being able to connect really matters.
Google Person Finder
Google launched a “person finder” tool on Saturday to help users find loved ones affected by the earthquake that devastated Nepal.
With communications to the region badly affected by the 7.8 magnitude quake, buildings flattened and more than 1500 people dead, it can collate information from emergency responders and allows individuals to post details about relatives missing or found.
Within hours of the disaster hitting Kathmandu and its surrounding area just before noon, 200 names had been uploaded.
The Google tool has become a regular feature of recent disasters, when reliable information is needed rapidly.
Rupa Joshi, a Unicef official in Nepal has said:
The shake was like nothing I have experienced in my 57 years. It was strong and it shook for a long time. Many old monuments, including famous temples and stupas have come down. Many people fear Kathmandu will have very a high death rate. Fortunately, today is Saturday so schools were off and the quake came in the daytime.
When I went out in the evening, I saw many people preparing to camp out in the main open parade ground in the middle of the street. Relatives were crying in the main government hospital where the dead were being lined up in front of the hospital building.
Dozens of British travellers and climbers are among the hundreds feared missing or dead after being caught up in the devastating Nepalese earthquake and Everest avalanche that followed, The Telegraph's Patrick Sawer reports:
A large number of British travellers in their 30s, 40s and 50s who had used their lifesavings to pay for a trip of a lifetime to climb Everest are also still unaccounted for.
Six out of the eight teams of Britons who had booking the adventure holiday with Jagged Globe, a travel company, are missing.
Tom Briggs, the firm’s director, said: “We are still waiting to hear from our teams. The phone lines have been jammed. We have eight teams there at the moment and only two have checked in so far. We have about 70 people out there. They are mostly British people but we also have people from Australia and Ireland. The people travelling had been saving up for a trip of a lifetime for an adventure holiday.
Comments