VOA News | Saturday, November 4, 2023 
Nepal Rushes Aid, Rescue Operations After Quake Kills at Least 157

KATHMANDU, NEPAL — Survivors of a strong earthquake that shook Nepal ’s northwest in the middle of the night described sudden shaking followed by houses collapsing and burying entire families, as the death toll rose to 157 on Saturday. Most of those killed were crushed by debris when their houses — usually made by stacking rocks and logs — crumbled under the force of the temblor Friday at midnight, local media reported. While rescuers scrambled to rush aid, operations were hampered by the fact that many of the mountainous villages could only be reached by foot. Soldiers could be seen trying to clear roads blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. The government is trying to get aid to the affected areas, Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said on Saturday. Tents, food and medicine were flown in as thousands became homeless overnight. “I was fast asleep when all of a sudden it started shaking violently. I tried to run, but the whole house collapsed. I tried escaping, but half my body got buried in the debris,” said Bimal Kumar Karki, one of the first people to be brought to the regional hospital…Read more