Sirmooree Summer 2015

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23 May 2015
Many of the volunteer groups have stopped their relief work and
returned to their day jobs but help is still desperately needed . The
villagers in Sindupalchowk are having a particularly hard time as the
earthquake opened great cracks in the ground and the threat of
landslides is very high. Whole villages are trapped on sharp ridgelines,
wondering when they will be swept away. The only option is to relocate
them by helicopter.
I was up in Nagarkot again on Friday. Coming back through Bhaktapur I
saw farmers trying to get in their wheat crop. It has already been
standing too long so the grain is falling from the seed heads before they
can harvest. They then have to find somewhere to store it.
26 May 2015
Early evening Saturday a sudden windstorm sent dust clouds and debris
spiralling across the open ground in front of my house. It hit a recently
constructed building in which a number of earthquake victims were
sheltering. The walls had already been damaged, but the tin roof was
intact until the wind hit it with incredible force, tearing it off and
demolishing much of what remained of the walls. The wind was
reported to have killed three people in East Nepal.
Earlier that same day our convoy of relief materials set out for
Okhaldunga, complete with police escort to prevent looting. They were
getting close to Jiri when a windstorm struck, uprooting trees and
throwing them across the road, blocking further passage. A house had
its roof torn off and the wall fell in, killing the householder instantly. Our
volunteers had to purchase saws to cut their way through to Rawadolu,
the distribution point. The Nepal Army had a platoon there that was due
to move on, but stayed to ensure the security of our relief materials and
their distribution.
On Sunday a landslide in the Kali Gandaki gorge was reported, damming
the river and causing a lake two kilometres long to form behind it.
People living in settlements downstream, including the town of Beni,
were evacuated to higher ground as a precaution against the dam
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