UN teams respond to deadly earthquake in western Nepal
UN teams respond to deadly earthquake in western Nepal The powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the remote and rural districts of Rukum (West) and Jajarkot shortly before midnight on Friday (local time) as families slept in their mostly mud-brick homes, trapping many under the rubble. Several aftershocks have since been reported. The shaking was also felt in the capital, Kathmandu, about 510 kilometres (about 315 miles) away. People ran out of their homes, with memories of the deadly April-May 2015 earthquakes still fresh in their minds. The 2015 quakes claimed nearly 9,000 lives, destroyed or severely damaged over 500,000 homes, and reduced towns, schools, hospitals and centuries-old historic sites to rubble. Children most at risk Alice Akunga, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Nepal, said that children and their families are most at risk, having lost their homes, schools and health centres. Estimates indicate that thousands of school aged children live in the af...