Help To Rebuild Nepal

I read this morning about a new 7.3 magnitude earthquake in eastern Nepal, and it broke my heart all over again. People are afraid and continue to suffer without homes or even the basic stability of earth to consider rebuilding. Some of our staff were just starting to stack stones and repair some damage, but the epicenter of last night’s earthquake was much closer to their villages and building damage is widespread and greater than before. Casualties appear to be minimal (in part because people who lived in unstable buildings are all living in tents nowadays), but are expected to grow in the coming days. The earthquake also triggered a number of new landslides around Nepal.

It appears that all our staff are safe and okay. I was able to reach Dawa (our Mountain Madness sirdar) by phone this morning in his village near Lukla and have been emailing with other friends in both Kathmandu and in rural areas. People are generally okay, but fear is renewed, and life seems to be in a holding pattern of just trying to get by while waiting to see what else the earth will do. This recent quake was at the eastern edge of the fault created by the first quakes, and it is unlikely to be the last. In the past few hours, more than 6 aftershocks of 5.0 magnitude or greater have hit the region and are expected to continue.