The Devastation of the Earthquakes

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, toppling multi-story buildings in Kathmandu the capital, and creating landslides and avalanches in the Himalaya Mountains.

The statistics are difficult to imagine . . .

Nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 suffered injuries.

More than 600,000 homes were destroyed and more than 288,000 homes were damaged in the 14 worst-hit districts.

According to the Nepal government, the overall damage is estimated to be at about $10 billion, which is over half of Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) of $19.2 billion. Hundreds of thousands of people lost everything and faced extreme poverty. The quakes’ strongest impact was in remote rural areas, making the response extremely challenging.

Even our founder, Madhav Bhandari, was made homeless and lived under a homemade tent made out of tarpaulins together with his family and neighbors. He lived there while coordinating relief efforts as the Chair of our newly formed nonprofit organization, Community Service of Nepal.

office@communityserviceofnepal.org