Kathmandu, 26 Apr – A MapAction team has been mobilised in response to a devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale that hit Nepal Saturday 12 noon, local time. One of MapAction’s volunteers was already in Kathmandu and is liaising with the United Nations on mapping needs.
Early indications are several thousand have died, many are still buried under rubble and hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties. The extent of the impact of the emergency is still to be fully determined but it is believed to have impacted Nepal’s second city, Pokhara, and mountainous rural areas. The Government of Nepal has declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team and Urban Search and Rescue teams are deploying to assist.
MapAction undertook a preparedness mission in 2010 with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ensuring essential data and information was pre identified to help with emergencies like this.
All maps created by MapAction can be found on the Nepal Deployment page.
Sign up for a daily digest of the maps created in the field here.