People of Nepal Struggle After Earthquake
May 6, 2015
More than a week after a major earthquake on April 26, the people of Nepal are struggling in the aftermath of the disaster. The death toll for the earthquake has increased to more than 7,000 people, and the number injured is more than 14,000 people. There are still untold numbers missing in remote villages, so both these counts are expected to rise.
Around 80 percent of the people in Nepal are Hindus, and Hindu custom prescribes cremating bodies within 24 hours of death, when possible. Last week, the air was filled with the smoke of funeral pyres in Nepal. The Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu was cremating more bodies in a day than it usually handles in weeks, and volunteers came to help the crematorium because there were not enough priests to perform the ceremonies.
So many homes in Nepal have been destroyed that shelter is a major concern. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that the need for tents is critical in Nepal. Millions of people are still sleeping outside in the cold, and the monsoon season is about to begin. UNICEF warns that people sleeping out in heavy rains are much more prone to disease, and the threat of such serious illnesses as cholera in Nepal is very high right now. The country is also experiencing a shortage of food, safe water, and medicines.
Nepal is a very poor country, and recovery and reconstruction will be harder for its people. Economic experts estimate that Nepal is one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. More than 25 percent of its people live below the poverty line, which the World Bank considers to be $1.25 a day per person. Between 25 and 30 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all goods and services for a year, come from remittances—that is, people from Nepal who work abroad and send money home. In good times, Nepalese people struggle financially. Some economic experts have forecast the financial losses to Nepal could exceed Nepal’s GDP of $20 billion for 2015.
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