Nepal's Earthquake
Peter in Shivapuri
On early Saturday morning I went for a hiking to the Shivapuri peak in the north of Kathmandu. After five hours I was back at the bus stop and was waiting for a microbus. There was no sign of the looming disaster. The bus was packed from the first stop. I was sitting in the middle of the last row and I could not see much of what was going on around. Few minutes later a driver rapidly stopped the bus and I felt that it was being agitated. I thought that someone is getting angry because there was no space in the bus but after ten seconds the shaking still continued. I noticed that some people sitting in the front rows were abandoning the bus and at this moment I realized – it is an earthquake.
There were no screaming or violence among passengers, but also there were no consensus whether it is safer to stay inside or jump out. However, it was clear for me that I want to get off this bus and run to the middle of the street. I exclaimed: ‘Get out of here!’, so others are aware of my plan. It was now approximately 30 seconds since the start of the shaking. It was hard to comprehend that it is earth what is moving. Immediately, I took out my phone and started to record everything, but I do not know if this was the right thing to do. At the same time, I looked at the infrastructure around me, trying to calculate where I should stand to stay safe if something breaks apart. A minute later the earthquake finally stopped. I could see that a huge dust cloud was rising from the city center. This meant that some buildings did not withhold the rumble.
Minutes after the earthquake
Everyone, who had managed to get out of buildings, was staying in the middle of the street. Luckily, I did not see any house collapsing in proximity. I was on the main road that leads to the city center from the north. This area contains newer and more durable developments. The people looked shocked, but safe and sound. My heart was pounding like crazy. For me, as a guy who had seen earthquake only on TV, it was difficult to accept that I had just witnessed one. I knew that I have to get back to my guesthouse. It is situated in the south of Kathmandu, around 20km from the point where I was. As soon as I started to move, there was the first aftershock. It was nearly as strong as the earthquake itself, just lasted half of the time. After it, I started to walk home. Vendors were closing their street shops in hurry. Everyone looked worried trying to call their relatives. The phone line was overwhelmed and I wasn’t able to reach my colleagues, but 3G worked and I managed to send a Skype message to my family in Latvia saying that I am fine. Surprisingly for me, people did not panic. I guess many compared this with an earthquake two years ago, which did not cause a lot of damage.
Durbur Square
At this moment I realized how lucky I am. Yes, I saw shattered display windows, cracks in the walls of buildings, broken shelves in shops, but I knew that it could be much worse. Meanwhile, there was one aftershock after another. After walking for 40 minutes, I passed the hospital area. Many cars fled to hospital carrying the injured. Then I realized that other parts of Kathmandu could be damaged worse. After one and a half hour and experiencing few more aftershocks, I reached the old city center. For the first time I saw the real scale of ravage: fallen brick walls, collapsed roofs and entire buildings, also victims. The famous temples in Durbar Square were completely destroyed. The military persons had already arrived and were searching through the ruins for survivors. I try to call my colleagues, but unsuccessful again. I thought that the best is to keep walking home and hope to meet one of them with whom I lived together.
The guesthouse seemed to be badly damaged with countless cracks, the building was abandoned. I did not want to go into, but I knew that I need to get my passport and other first necessity things. I swiftly got to the fourth floor, started to grab everything. I was not able to think as clearly as expected and spent around 10 minutes there – way too long. When I got out of the guesthouse, my colleague Guillermo reached me on phone. Guillermo had planned to leave Nepal on Tuesday. Unlucky for him the scheduled date was three days after the earthquake. He told me that he was fine and he had contacted other colleagues from RW: Lata, Baburam and Anita. It was a huge relief knowing that they and their families were safe. During the earthquake Guillermo was close to the epicenter, travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu. He told me that he was on the bus and did not even feel the earthquake. This was the first time I burst in laughter saying that it is impossible. However, travelling some of Nepali roads at 60km/h may feel like a never ending earthquake, so I believed him.
Cracks in Walls in Guesthouse
In few hours he got to the guesthouse. None of us is a structural engineer, but it was decided to do a closer visual inspection to see how badly the building is defected. The cracks where found only in the plaster and brick walls, but not in the main or support beams. However, in fear of more aftershocks, we decided to spend the night outside together with a landlady’s family, next to the guesthouse in an open concrete garage. The landlady provided an extension cord connected to the battery bank in the guesthouse, so we had enough power to charge our batteries. Anxiety did not allow me to sleep. When I finally fell asleep, there was another aftershock. This meant to jump up and ran away from the building. At this time my brain worked in an autopilot. At 6am in the morning, after the third rumble that night, no-one wanted to sleep again. The locals heard on the radio that experts anticipate even a stronger earthquake. Staying outside, but next to the building did not seem a safe option anymore and it was decided to build a tent in a huge field for the following night. During the day we found out about the devastating tragedy in other parts of Kathmandu and outside the valley. It was another moment to be thankful for not being hurt.
Outside shelter
Approximately 200m from the guesthouse was a huge field. Many people had spent the first night there. We found a spot to build our tent. Everyone did something: building tent, clearing the surrounding area, carrying blankets and mattresses, cooking on stove. This was amazing team work and a feeling that the disaster brings people together and unifies. It was large enough to accommodate not only me, Guillermo and landlady’s family, but also around ten more people. On the second night I felt like I was living with a new family. We shared emotions and feelings that many are lucky to not experience. Some of our newcomers in the tent were musicians. They played the guitar and the flute cheering up everyone in the field.
The day after was quiet, at least in our neighborhood. We tried not to follow the news too much. Didi cooked some rice and lentils. In one of few open kiosks we got some snacks. Guillermo and I decided to visit the Renewable World office, which is just a 10 minute walk from our place. We did not find a single crack in the outside structure, the second floor looked the same as we left in on Friday. There were not even a water bottle fallen on the ground. Perhaps, the Renewable World office was the least damaged building in the neighborhood. We sent the news back to the UK and left the office. Some people had returned home, but we were staying on street one more night. For me it felt easier to bear the discomfort sleeping on the ground at safe place rather than to be inside and wake up from every sound. It was another pitch-dark night in Kathmandu. There was no electricity or water supply in the city. What was worrying is that shelves were getting empty fast. In the evening I couldn't find still water in my neighborhood, had to buy soft drinks. That night we experienced aftershock only once. I hoped that this was finally over.
On the next day and some 72 hours after it all started, Guillermo and I had a meeting with South Asia program manager Lata. Guillermo was leaving in that evening anyway, but my future in Nepal was unclear. I really enjoyed my time in Nepal and in the RW team and I hoped to stay longer. However, there were growing concerns about health & safety issues that usually follow after such disasters. After a conversation with the global program manager Nick Virr and Lata, it was decided that it will be safer if I moved to the UK office. A part of me was against this decision, but I knew that it will be better for me to change the environment and let emotions settle. Although I spent only three weeks in Nepal, significantly less than planned, I fell in love with this country and its always cheerful people. The RW team also promised that when the situation improves, I will be able to come back. My deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and all those affected by this massive earthquake! Farewell to Nepal and all the best to my Team!
Nick had given everyone a week emergency leave. For me it meant that I have six days until next Tuesday when I have to start in the UK office. I had various possibilities how to spend them; I could go back home to Latvia, I could go to Ireland and meet my friends, I could arrive in England earlier and calmly settle down and get used with Brighton, I was also offered to stay at Lata’s place for few days and then leave for the UK. I came up with a different plan – I want to go to India. No visa, no idea if I can get a visa. All I knew is that a flight to Delhi takes one and a half hour and I could seek respite there.
