On the 25th April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and its surrounding areas. A number of aftershocks, one of which reached a magnitude of 7.3, followed. It is estimated that approximately 8,500 people have lost their lives, with thousands more injured and even more facing homelessness.
The response by the UK public to this crisis has been overwhelming. By the 11th May 2015, the UK public donated approximately £50 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in order to support those affected by the Nepal earthquake.
As a result, the UK public has helped ensure charities and organisations provide a rapid and sustained response to help an estimated 310,000 thousand people in more than 60 villages, camps and towns – some highlights include:
- Action Aid providing 5,750 people in Panga hygiene and medical kits, including disposable gloves and soap
- CAFOD and its partners in the Caritas network delivering tents and food to 10,460 people in three districts of the Kathmandu valley
- CARE providing more than 5,300 people in Gorkha with shelter, water and sanitation kits
- Christian Aid providing 10,000 people in Gorkha, Dhading and Sindhupalchok with ten water filtration units – each of which provide 1,500 litres of purified water per hour
- Islamic Relief distributing food to 5,135 people in Sindhupalchowk district
- Oxfam distributing 925 hygiene kits for 4,625 people and 1,245 bottles of chlorine solution for 6,225 people
- Save the Children providing shelter kits, baby kits and relief supplies to more than 25,000 people in Gorkha
- Plan distributing more than 1,290 education kits in Sindhuli
The DEC chief executive, Saleh Saeed, has expressed his gratitude for the donations provided so far on the DEC website.
“We are extremely grateful for the extraordinary generosity of UK public. Despite the immense challenges facing those affected and relief efforts, the response continues to grow day by day. We are now delivering more aid to some of the worst-affected areas, and our members are expanding their efforts into remote regions.
“Our members’ teams are working around the clock to provide essential aid. A huge amount of work remains to be done before the monsoon rains make the response even more difficult and the risk of disease outbreaks increase. The overwhelming generosity of the UK public will help families get through the next few months and rebuild their lives over the coming years.”
For more information on how to donate to the DEC Nepal earthquake appeal, visit www.dec.org.uk.