AFTERSHOCKS AND AID
Canada joins aid effort after Nepalese quake kills thousands
The Canadian government and humanitarian groups moved quickly on the weekend to provide help for the people of Nepal after an earthquake struck the region, claiming more than 2,500 lives.
The airport at Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, was teeming Sunday with people fleeing the country and with many arriving humanitarian teams, including from Canada.
Among those on the scene was Alain Lapierre of Gatineau, who is leading a response team for CARE Canada.
In an interview Sunday, he said humanitarian groups were still examining the extent of damage and loss of life in Kathmandu.
“The situation remains difficult and complex.”
The more potentially troubling work will be in determining how devastating the earthquake was in places outside the capital, where buildings were even less likely to withstand the earthquake.
Already, he said, he was hearing estimates of as high as 5,000 fatalities and 60,000 people injured in the region.
In the days ahead, he said, the focus will be on providing shelter, health care, and food.
The immediate work was hampered by an aftershock that struck Nepal and India on Sunday and triggered even more avalanches in the Himalayan mountains.
The tremor on Sunday was 6.7 magnitude, which was less than the 7.8 quake that struck on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, Defence Minister Jason Kenney tweeted that the government was deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Nepal immediately in response to the earthquake.
DART is a military team designed to deploy on short notice to deal with natural disasters or humanitarian emergencies.
On Sunday, Lauren Armstrong, an aide to Kenney, provided further details. “We are deploying the DART Assessment Team to determine the needs on the ground,” she said. “This team includes Light Urban Search and Rescue personnel and medical staff, and the flight will have humanitarian supplies on board.” The team was scheduled to depart from Canadian Forces Base Trenton on Sunday evening.
Canada is also contributing $5 million to relief efforts, said Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson’s office. Other humanitarian groups involved in helping out include UNICEF, the Canadian Red Cross and World Vision Canada.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his condolences about the earthquake and said Canada was prepared to help out in the wake of the disaster.
“On behalf of all Canadians, Laureen and I offer our heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and northern India who lost family and friends in this powerful earthquake and its aftershocks,” he said.
“The thoughts and prayers of all Canadians are with the many affected by this disaster and we wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.” Harper said Canadian officials in the region were working with Nepalese and Indian authorities to ensure that any Canadians affected by the earthquake “are safe and accounted for.”
“In co-operation with international partners, they are also assessing the needs of the affected populations to determine how Canada may most effectively assist with the disaster if asked to help. We mourn with the people of Nepal and India in the aftermath of this terrible natural disaster and offer our help and our prayers.”
The federal government also has agreements in place to work with humanitarian groups and is prepared to help Canadians in the region. Nearly 400 have voluntarily registered as being in Nepal, but the real number is probably higher.
Canadians caught up in the earthquake spoke of bricks falling from buildings (some of which collapsed), shaking streets amid the roar of the quake, and fallen power lines strewn across cities.
“It lasted more than a few seconds,” said Ottawa resident Harry Binks, who was in Kathmandu as part of a 21-member group planning to climb to the base camp of Mount Everest. “The only quakes I’ve been in before were over pretty quickly. But this one went on and on, and there were several shocks.”
While much of the devastation was based in densely populated areas, the earthquake also caused an avalanche at Mount Everest and at least 17 people there were killed and many others were injured.
The earthquake hit just before noon and had a preliminary magnitude of 7.8, rolling through the Kathmandu Valley, including Kathmandu itself, and then expanding in other directions such as the Himalayas and Tibet.
At least four countries were affected by the quake, according to reports. Many houses and ancient temples collapsed.
Diana Khaddaj, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the department was closely monitoring the situation and that the government has financial agreements in place with humanitarian organizations “that allow them to begin immediately drawing on funds to rapidly respond to a crisis.
“The Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa and Canadian offices abroad are working with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens as required.”
Khaddaj said there are 388 Canadians registered with the government as being in Nepal, but that is only an estimate because registration is voluntary.
Friends and relatives in Canada of Canadian citizens in Nepal or the surrounding affected area should contact DFATD’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre by calling 613-996-8885 or 1 800 387-3124, or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
A group of Canadian trekkers caught in the earthquake is in Nepal as part of the Dream Mountains Foundation, which raises money for charities and is led by Ottawa restaurant owner Shawn Dawson.
The group of trekkers, which includes CTV host Leanne Cusack, has been training for months for their objective — a 17,500-foot ascent to Everest Base Camp, part way up Mount Everest.
The group arrived in Nepal on Friday night. On Saturday, said Binks, they were strolling through the city’s marketplace “doing some relaxing and pre-trek shopping in case anybody needed to get any last minute items.” Then the quake hit. “It was swaying, the street itself.” Banks was concerned that he might be hurt by falling debris from nearby buildings — all of which are very old and are “incredibly close together.” But he was not harmed. He said another member of the team, from Huntsville, was hurt by a falling brick.
“She’s OK, so there’s no real injuries to our team at all. But we were anxious to get out into the open.”