CRI听力:Nepal PM Says Quake Toll Could Pass 10,000

People stranded in remote villages and towns across Nepal are still waiting for aid and relief to arrive, four days after the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks, which has already left over 5-thousand confirmed dead.

30-year-old Bhoj Kumar Thapa is from a remote village near the epicenter of the quake.

He says government aid has yet to reach them.

"When I reached my village, I saw that there was nothing here, everything was destroyed. My wife who was heavily pregnant had died and we took her body to the hospital. My daughter is also in the hospital. The government just makes promises saying 'we will do it…', but they have not come back after they left."
Landslides and numerous aftershocks are said to be hampering rescue and relief efforts even still.

Helicopters have been dropping tents, food and medicine into isolated communities.

Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala says they're doing all they can, but admits they are overwhelmed by the scale of the catastrophe.

"The government has made it its first priority to provide relief, rescue and rehabilitation for all citizens affected by the earthquake. The government will rebuild all those structures of historical, religious and archaeological significance that were destroyed by the earthquake."

Koirala also says the death toll could surpass 10-thousand, noting information from far-flung villages and towns has yet to come in.

Saturday's massive earthquake and its aftershocks has also left over 10-thousand others injured.

Experts are warning the chance of finding people alive in the ruins is now slim, now that the 72-hour "golden window" to rescue people has passed.

But in a rare glimmer of hope, a Nepalese-French rescue team has managed to pull a 28-year-old man from a collapsed apartment block in Kathmandu after being trapped for some 80-hours next to the corpses of three others.

Heavy rain is worsening the plight of the hundreds-of-thousands who are being forced to camp outdoors.

The UN estimates 8-million people in 39 different districts in Nepal have been affected by the 7.8-magnitude quake.

This is more than a quarter of the country's population.

Relief teams are also working around the clock to prevent the outbreak of disease among the survivors.

Liu Haifeng, chief medical officer with the China International Research and Rescue Team, says preventing an outbreak of disease is critical.

"We are treating about 300 patients a day. Our major task is helping the injured. We're sterilizing and wrapping their wounds. The other part of our job is treating patients who have been coming down with colds, fevers and diarrhea."

Initial estimates are suggesting the post-quake reconstruction bill is going to exceed 10 billion US dollars.

This is almost half of Nepal's current GDP.

However, funding reconstruction is already being hindered, as one of the country's main revenue streams, tourism, has been badly affected by the quake.
Many of the country's historical landmarks have been devastated by the earthquake.

This year's spring climbing season on Mount Qoomolangma, otherwise known as Mount Everest, has already been cancelled on both the Nepalese and Chinese sides.
Climbers looking to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain are a significant source of revenue for Nepal.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.