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YESTERDAY SAW A second earthquake hit Nepal, just two weeks after the first that devastated the country and killed more than 8,000 people.
Tremors measured more than 7.3 in magnitude and officials in the country said yesterday that 36 people were thought to have been killed, as well as 17 more across the border in northern India.
The initial earthquake was followed minutes later by another 5.6-magnitude aftershock, according to the US Geological Survey.
On the ground
TheJournal.ie spoke to Colm Byrne, Humanitarian Manager with Oxfam Ireland, who is on the ground in Nepal, about what happened when the earthquake hit.
“We were sitting in a car at around lunchtime today in the middle of the town of Chautara, which is in the middle of the area that was most affected by the earthquake two weeks ago. We were sitting in the car when it started to shake and I immediately assumed that the driver had put his foot on the accelerator and had forgotten to take off the handbrake,” he said.
The car started to shake and it started to shake more and more and immediately I realised that people were screaming and starting to run. We all realised quickly that this was an earthquake and it was sheer pandemonium everywhere.
Monsoon season
The damage caused by the earthquakes is compounded by the forthcoming monsoon season. Agencies like Oxfam face a race against time to provide aid to areas that need it.
The biggest concern I think that we have looking forward is that we not only just respond to the here and now, but also that we look at what will happen in a few weeks’ time.
The forthcoming monsoons have the potential to cause widespread disruption.
“If there has been more seismic activity then there will be more soil that has been moved, and the more likelihood that there will be landslides. And you combine that with heavy rainfall, there will be serious problems in terms of access to roads being cut off,” Byrne explains.
Sleeping outside
With the potential danger of buildings collapsing, many of those in affected areas will be deciding to sleep outside tonight. However, in a mountainous country like Nepal, the difficulty of doing this is compounded.
“Sleeping outside in Nepal is a big problem because there isn’t actually that much room to do so. Tonight all of our team is sleeping on a dry riverbed. Not the ideal place but nobody wants to sleep inside,” says Byrne.
There are no large, flat open spaces where people can convene. In many cases people were living in shelters right next to their homes, the homes that had been destroyed.
Other agencies
Other groups that are operating on the ground in Nepal include Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF) and Irish NGO Concern.
Speaking about yesterday’s earthquake, Kieran McConville, a Concern emergency response team member, said, “There have been five big new earthquakes and several aftershocks in the last few hours. Right now, we’re surrounded by landslides limiting our ability to move around.”
Individuals can contribute to Oxfam’s emergency earthquake appeal through their website here.
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Just more money for consultants
@Martin Sinnott: instead of just asking the locals they’ll pay some lad or lassie with a title who’ll charge a couple of K per hour to ask the locals and present the reply’s in a fancy hotel on a fancy slide with fancy documents.
@Martin Sinnott: Yep I’d worry about this too. And they don’t have a good record with the national parks in this country either imho. Not one of them is in good health! Wicklow Mountains & Glens have huge potential for land regeneration and rewilding, and it’s mostly not happening. Re Glendalough and traffic.. perhaps a one way system although knowing the area I’m not sure how this would work? They need to keep what makes the place so special for many of us and be very sensitive to the nature there but also retain the small village feel to nearby Laragh and surrounds. There have been a number of builds that should not have been given PP in recent times and they have damaged the look of the place. also more street lighting was put in effecting the dark skies. Some people just don’t get it, their desensitised and don’t know any better.
@eric nelligan: not that simple, ‘‘tis Ireland
Locals won’t be consulted because it will have to go to court/inquiry, drag out for 10 years.
Then get go ahead, half finished , out of Money.
Tax incentives, get finished 5years after. AND then go to tender to be brought up to date.!!!!
I hope they dont try and wreck it, like they are trying to wreck the Hellfire Club
@Tinky Freeman:
I that was cancelled
@Tinky Freeman: the parking issues on the weekends up are appalling. People just dump their cars on road leading to traffic jams. A cable car from the square up is the way forward… Or maybe people should park responsibility
I’ll only invoice €150,000 for solving this pressing issue with the use of bollards.
#masterplan
If they stopped taking money from people to park cars in the car park it would stop people just abandoning their cars anywhere to avoid paying. I have witnessed this may times
The solution is Easy peasy, just operate a one way circular system and time based entry. Car parks ate a separate issue.
@Kevin T Finn: you should include your proposal as part of your submission for the €500k design fees
@Kevin T Finn: a one way circular system into a cul de sac?
Build a wall, build a wall, build a wall
No need for 500k. Prebooked parking and hard enforcement of badly parked cars is all hats needed. No need for one way systems, all of these parks will benefit from less cars and people overall.
They could open a second destination though to get people higher up and I suggest Turlough hill. It has lots of hard standing already, is already an industrial site.. Provide a walkway,.
Do like Glenveagh , parking is away from the main building , shuttle buses to the site . Sorted .
Simple build carpark at Glendalough mines site further on from the upper lake carpark. Therefore, 3 carpark’s which should spread the footfall of visitor’s to different area’s of the lakes.
Love going hiking up there but the facilities are atrocious. The toilets are from the 60s and stink, are filthy, hand dryers not working. Just god damn awful. I’d rather piss in a forest than in those toilets
No car parks. Public bus transport only? Having never been there I’m not sure if this would work
@Thomas Maher: it wouldn’t
Not the type of place it would be easy to spread visitors over periods of time. It’s a great place for a hike or just bringing the family up for a relaxing say where kids have a bit of space to run around. Park & ride might work but you would still need a big carpark in the vicinity.
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