Nepal Earthquake: The tragedy and what all is being done to help so far

It’s now almost a week since a powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake battered the Himalayan nation of Nepal, flattening large parts of the capital Kathmandu and causing devastation across the impoverished nation. We at Business Insider bring to you an update on all that has happened since then, the number of lives lost, the miraculous rescues, the extent of the aid pressed into service from world over and the reconstruction process that has slowly, but steadily begun.

Death toll

- Over 6,000 people are known to have died in Nepal alone

- Upwards of another 10,000 were injured

- 18 climbers died at Mount Everest base camp when the quake sparked an avalanche

- Two Americans, an Australian, a Japanese and a Chinese national were among the victims on the mountain

- 75 people were killed in India

- In China, 25 lost their lives, according to the ministry of civil affairs in Tibet

- A British dual national, who lived in Hong Kong, also died

Survivors


- The United Nations estimates that eight million people have been affected

- 2.8 million Nepalese were displaced, according to the world body

- More than 3.5 million people are estimated to be in need of food assistance, the UN said

- And UNICEF estimates that 1.7 million children require urgent aid

Aid
- Dozens of countries from around the world have rushed to pledge money. Significant sums include:

- $15 million from the UN's emergency fund

- $15 million total contributed by Britain

- $10 million pledged by the United States

- $8.4 million from Japan, according to local media

- And $4.7 million from Australia
- The UN has also made an appeal for $415 million while UNICEF wants to raise $50.35 million

- The UN said 80 tons of of emergency items including tents, blankets and health kits were being distributed

- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says 1,719 personnel across 54 international teams from 22 countries are supporting the relief effort

- 13 of those teams, with 585 staff, are from India. Coincidentally, India is aiding Nepal with the largest number of rescue forces on ground.

Reconstruction

- OCHA estimates 530,000 houses were damaged across 39 of Nepal's 75 districts

- Another 70,000 were destroyed, according to the UN agency

- OCHA said that up to 90 per cent of health facilities in four districts were severely damaged

- And some 16,000 schools were damaged, the agency added

- Business research IHS estimates that reconstruction costs could top $5 billion or around 20 percent of the country's GDP

(with inputs from AFP)