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UPDATE: Nepal Earthquake Emergency Appeal

: Relief efforst in Kathmandu, Nepal on 25th April 2015 © Reuters

UPDATE - 13 May - 7.4M earthquake hits eastern Nepal. Our partners working on the ground are thankfully all safe and are assessing the damaged caused.

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On 25th April 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, close to Kathmandu, the capital city.

CBM is in contact with our staff and partners and we are now working on a disability-inclusive response.

CBM contacting staff and partners

On 25th April 2015 at 11:41 local time a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, with the epicentre 81km northwest of Kathmandu. There were tremors of up to two minutes and by evening, at least 18 aftershocks had been felt.

As of 27th April 2015, the Government reports that:

8 million people in 39 districts have been affected, of which over 2 million people live in the 11 severely affected districts.

Priority needs include food, water, shelter and medication. Over 1.4 million people are in need of food assistance.

A Humanitarian Staging Area (HSA) in Kathmandu International Airport has been set-up to mitigate congestion at Kathmandu Airport.

CBM has been working in Nepal since 1982 is currently supporting nine partner-projects in Nepal. These include eye and ear care programmes, orthopaedic and Community-based Rehabilitation services.

We are in the process of contacting our partners, but communications are still extremely difficult and the aftershocks are making this worse.

CBM response

CBM will respond to best ensure that people with disabilities (including older people and other more at-risk people) and their families can access mainstream relief and recovery services.

CBM’s Emergency Response Team is on the ground and assessing the situation. Plans include:

Build up and support capacity of our orthopaedic and rehabilitation partner to support people with injuries and people with disabilities with medical services·
Work with our local Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) partners to identify affected people with disabilities and their needs, and to support them in accessing relief activities.

We have received reports from Kathmandu that the Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children has sustained serious structural damage. The children are currently in tents outside. CBM is providing heaters and blankets to the patients and staff affected.

First report directly from Kathmandu

: Military personnel and volunteers carry earthquake victims as they arrive at Dhading hospital, in Dhading Besi, Nepal April 27, 2015 © REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

We spoke with Mitralal Shrestha, CBM Nepal soon after the first earthquake struck.

"A seven-storey building only 300 metres from my house had collapsed. More than 25 families were staying there. It was totally destroyed.

"We helped the people - calling police, taking them to hospital. In the hospital there were no free beds; people were just lying on the floor getting treatment. Now it’s 10pm, it’s dark and cold but many people are still outside, sitting around, afraid to go back inside in case of more earthquakes."

Disability and emergencies

The WHO estimates 15% of the global population live with disability. In any emergency or disaster, people who live with some form of disability are disproportionally affected. Reasons for this include inaccessibility of warning messages and emergency shelters, loss and damage of assistive devices, disruption of support networks and increased difficulty in accessing basic humanitarian operations (food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care services).

At the same time, emergencies can increase the number of people who experience disability, both short and long-term, due to injuries sustained and lack of effective medical services.