With two massive earthquakes rocking Nepal, India,, the death toll has now reached the highest on record, as more than 8,500 people are now considered casualties of the deadly events on April 25 and May 12 .
The home ministry of Nepal stated on Sunday that the death toll now stands at 8,583, according to Reuters. The previous holder of the grim title was the 1934 earthquake, which claimed 8,519 lives in the country.
As the county struggles in the aftermath of the two massive disasters, its now facing another huge challenge: only a fraction of the aid that the country is in need of has been given so far, said a United States official to CNN.
To date, only 14% of the humanitarian aid requested by the United Nations for the country's relief effort has been met. From the initial request of $423 million requested since the first earthquake hit has month, only $59 million has been committed, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Leszek Barczak, a public information officer of the OCHA, feels that the international community needs to do more for the disaster-struck country.
"We are not out of the emergency situation yet," he said. "Some 500,000 to 600,000 families have lost their homes in the two earthquakes. Shelter is the minimum for the people to get on with their lives," he added.
Krishna Siwakoti, a farmer who lives close to the epicenter of the second earthquake, states that shelter is one of their primary concerns, according to CNN.
"The land has cracked open in many places, many people don't even have a spot to put their tents," he said.
"The situation is dire. We are isolated," he said in an interview with CNN, adding that the quakes had also set off landslides "all around us."
