A large earthquake and deadly earthquake rocked Nepal again today. The death toll, now at 37, has been climbing throughout the day. This time, the epicenter was about 50 miles east of Katmandu, not far from Mount Everest.
From BBC:
Since the April 25 earthquake, one of the most difficult challenges of the rescue and recovery effort has been the basic task of reaching populations in need. Many towns are simply inaccessible by car. And some are inaccessible by both car and helicopter. This is particularly true near the epicenter of the latest earthquake today.
This map from MapAction details the sheer remoteness of the towns near the epicenter of the quake.
As the map notes, there are a great number of districts with 10,000 people or more that are cut off from the rest of the country right now. This latest 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck in the heart of the one of the most inaccessible and vulnerable parts of the country–if not on earth.
It is going to be several days before we know the true extent of damage from this latest quake. But given the geography and vulnerability of the population, I fear the death toll and destruction wrought by this latest earthquake will be quite intense.
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For more on why Nepal is so vulnerable to earthquakes and what needs to be done to increase the country’s resilience listen to this interview with Jo Scheuer of the UN Development Program