A week after quake, Nepal needs 400,000 tents, food for 3.5 mn

Kathmandu, May 2: Nepal, which has been flooded with relief material, still needs 400,000 tents and food for 3.5 million people, a week after a massive quake devastated the country. A temblor measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale had jolted Nepal on April 25, killing over 6,500 people, causing widespread destruction and destroying nearly 150,000 houses, according to the home ministry. Additionally, over 14,000 people were injured and over 160,000 houses damaged. The mountainous nation of 28 million has been left reeling. Aid and assistance in both cash and kind is pouring in but due to the difficult geographical terrain, it has been a challenge to carry out rescue and distribution of relief materials. A statement on Saturday said that Prime Minister Sushil Koirala inspected the central command post at Tribhuvan International Airport and it showed a pathetic picture of aid status. During the briefing, army officials told Koirala that relief materials received by Nepal was below their expectation and very few relief materials have been stocked in airport premises. The government still needs 400,000 tents, said the home ministry.