Nepal Death Toll Tops 4,400; At Least 1.4 Million Need Food Aid

By Christopher Dean Hopkins / NPR

Published April 27, 2015 at 7:50 PM PDT

This story was published more than 10 years ago.

A Nepalese man cooks food inside a tent as people relocate to open ground from fears of earthquake tremors in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday evening.

A man and child wait for ambulances after being evacuated at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday. The devastating earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday is now blamed for at least 4,000 deaths.

People are stuck in a traffic jam caused by a landslide in Kurintar. International aid efforts are underway, but aftershocks are rattling survivors' nerves and making the recovery even more challenging.

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Displaced families set up tents in a field opposite the airport in Kathmandu. In one district, 400,000 people were affected by the quake and more than 4,000 homes are now unsafe to inhabit, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports.

Volunteers clear the debris of a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu. The area's reconstruction costs are estimated to be in the billions.

Damaged buildings tilt precariously in Kathmandu. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook Nepal's capital and the densely populated Kathmandu Valley, causing extensive damage.

Nepali volunteers unload supplies brought by an Indian air force helicopter for victims of the earthquake at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal. The earthquake has left nearly 1 million children in need of humanitarian aid, according to UNICEF.

Nepali soldiers carry an injured man to an Indian air force helicopter as they evacuate victims from Trishuli Bazar to Kathmandu airport.

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People carry belongings from their destroyed homes as they walk through debris in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

A man prays Tuesday morning next to rubble of a temple destroyed in Saturday's earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Survivors of Saturday's earthquake in Nepal wake up Tuesday morning after spending night in an open ground from fears of aftershocks.

At least 4,400 people are confirmed dead in three countries following Saturday's earthquake just outside Kathmandu, Nepal, the Associated Press reports.

"A Nepal police official says at least 4,352 bodies have so far been recovered after last week's massive earthquake that struck just outside the capital of Kathmandu."Deputy Inspector General of Police Komal Singh Bam says the toll includes 1,176 bodies recovered in Sindhupalchuk district, just northeast of the capital. "He says 8,063 people have been injured in the magnitude 7.8 quake."

The U.S. State Department confirmed late Monday that four Americans were among those killed in the earthquake, all at an avalanche-struck Mount Everest base camp including a Colorado-based documentary filmmaker and a Google executive, the AP reported.

The BBC reports, via the United Nations, that 1.4 million of the 8 million people affected are in need of food aid, and that there also are severe shortages of body bags and medical supplies.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports Nepalis including Pradip Subba of Kathmandu — frustrated with a lack of aid so far — continue to sift through the rubble by themselves.

" 'Our hands are the only machine right now,' said the 27-year-old, part of a group of locals pulling out blocks of concrete with cloth masks over their faces to ward off the stench of rotting bodies. 'There is just no one from the government or the army to help us.' "

USAID has provided a list of recommended nongovernmental organizations that can take donations to assist those affected by the earthquake.