Survivors of the two earthquakes that rocked Nepal are now facing yet another imminent danger. Due to the damage to their homes, tens of thousands of Nepalis are currently sleeping in the open which might soon prove too risky as monsoon season gets underway.
More than a million people have been uprooted by the two powerful earthquakes that struck the country on April 25 and May 12, causing the Nepali government to expedite efforts in providing adequate shelter for survivors, according to Reuters.
Together with his wife and nine others, Nepali tea shop owner Phurba Sherpa spends his nights huddled under a tarpaulin on a school field outside Kathmandu, according to the United News of India. His village was demolished by falling rocks triggered by the earthquakes.
"I lost everything – my house, tea house and all that I owned. I am a refugee in my own country now," he said.
According to Sherpa, he and his wife left their village after the May 12 earthquake left the landscape uninhabitable.
We don't have any place to go, and this is not enough when it starts raining," he said. He and three other families have shared expenses to purchase the blue-and-yellow plastic sheet that serves as their domicile at night.
Natasha Reyes, head of Medecins Sans Frontieres' Nepal Mission, expresses her apprehension about the possible effects of the monsoon season, which can start as early as June 1, according to Reuters.
"You will have villages that are completely cut off. The monsoon is going to change the game," she said.
She stated that downpours washing through the camps may cause a rise in diseases like diarrhoea and respiratory tract illnesses. It may also cut off access to a number of areas that need immediate attention.
"These people are exposed to the elements. The pressure is really on," she added.
