BACKGROUND:
On April 25th at 11:56 local time, a catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in the north-west Lamjung District of Kathmandu. Additional aftershocks were felt throughout the night, including a 6.7 magnitude earthquake this afternoon at 12:54 local time. According to the latest reports, there have been over 2,200 confirmed deaths and over 5,800 injured. These numbers are expected to rise as officials and international search and rescue teams continue to dig through the rubble.
HOW SAMARITAN’S PURSE IS RESPONDING:
Samaritan’s Purse disaster assistance response team (DART) leader is currently on the ground working in collaboration with national partners to assess the damage and immediate needs. In coordination with Samaritan’s Purse affiliate offices in Canada and the UK, 20 additional staff are enroute to Kathmandu and will focus their attention on helping up to 15,000 affected households with emergency shelter, water, hygiene kits and other relief items. Also included in this response is a 6 person medical-surgical team that will support local hospitals and perform mobile medical clinics in the surrounding communities.
OBJECTIVE:
To meet the physical needs of 15,000 households through the distribution of emergency shelter, water, hygiene kits and other relief items. And to reduce the suffering of the injured through emergency medical interventions