Thousands of people affected as areas east of Kathmandu see additional damage.
Oxfam staff in Nepal are reporting the latest strong earthquake to hit Nepal has knocked down buildings and caused additional damage in areas east of Kathmandu—including areas where Oxfam is already responding to the earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25.
According to news reports, there was a magnitude 7.3 quake centered near Namche Bazaar, near Mount Everest and the Chinese border, just after noon local time today.
Early reports from news sources indicate more than 30 people have been killed and more than a thousand injured by this latest quake.
Oxfam staffers in Sindupalchock, near Kathmandu, report that a number of buildings in the area that were previously damaged have collapsed, and that they could see rocks falling down from surrounding hills. They have provided two vehicles to the Red Cross to transport casualties to medical facilities. Staffers in Nuwakot are reporting one collapsed building and a landslide on nearby hills, and Oxfam workers in Gorkha, west of Kathmandu, are reporting that additional buildings have collapsed.
“People on the ground are very shaken, very frightened. They had just started to go back to something approaching normality,” Oxfam’s Jane Cocking told the BBC World Service this morning. “[Today’s earthquake is] going to be a huge challenge for ordinary people across the country.”
Kai Tabacek, who works for Oxfam and is currently in Kathmandu, about 80 miles from the latest earthquake epicenter, tweeted an update:
— Kai Tabacek (@KaiTab) May 12, 2015
Oxfam is currently engaged in a major response to the April 25 earthquake, providing clean water and sanitation, food, and emergency shelter and aims to reach 400,000 people with assistance. We are now rapidly assessing the additional needs from the latest earthquake.
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