Even as the aftershocks continue in the quake-hit Nepal, the rain spell on Sunday night has worsened the situation for the stranded victims. While earthquake experts have predicted that the tremors are likely to continue in an already troubled Nepal, the survivors are scared to look back in the past.
22-year-old Jharna Pokhrel, a resident of Pashupati area in Kathmandu struggles to recount her experience as her voice quivers, “We were sitting in our house. like every other day, we were having our lunch suddenly as our house shook. For a minute we couldn’t fathom what really happenedIJ Within seconds we were out of our houses.” Jharna has a family of four with her younger sister Barsha studying in Delhi.
Jharna has been living in open fields for the past two days as the tragedy struck Nepal on the fateful Saturday. “We rushed to the road far away from our houses as the earth shook. We sat on the streets and every time the earth shook, we counted 1, 2, 3… This happened 25 times. I was scared of being buried alive.”
The 22-year-old, whose house suffered major loss and heavy cracks, says everyone is now scared to go back home. “We are scared to go back home. The aftershocks can occur any time and it might be even worse. What if we enter our house, earthquake occurs and we are strandedIJ” says a shaken voice.
She recalls how the buildings fell like a house of cards. “I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of my eyes. Everything ended in a few minutes. Everything reduced to rubble, thank fully my house is still standing still though it has suffered major loss. loss of life was such a common sight that day,” Pokhrel said.
With only rubble around, the victims are now faced with major essential problems of sanitation struggling to maintain proper hygiene. “There are no toilets, no proper sanitation. People are struggling hard for basic necessities. The shops are hardly open and the available products are being sold at very costly prices,” she tells. “There is a lot of fear among people,” Jharna repeats.
Earthquake experts have however predicted that the moderate tremors are likely to continue in the Himalayan region as it is a natural phenomenon. Apart from intermittent tremors, Sunday night took a toll on the survivors who were living on streets in the wake of the devastating earthquake. “We cooked rice and pork yesterday. Firstly we struggled to get the utensils and then finally cooked a meal. We are waiting for the situation to normalise, but it seems we have to wait longer as this part of Kathmandu has been the worst hit,” she said.