Fears as buildings continue to crack in quake-hit Nepal

Thousands of buildings are too dangerous to live in but continue to stand perilously in capital Kathmandu.

Three weeks after a powerful earthquake devastated Nepal, buildings in the capital Kathmandu damaged by the shaking and now too perilous to live in have yet to be torn down.

For the past few weeks, people whose homes were destroyed and others who are afraid to return home, have lived in tents on open grounds and even stayed in large spaces like those of wedding venues.


Some have moved away from larger complexes that look on the verge of collapse.
Another powerful temblor, with a magnitude of 7.3, hit shortly after noon on Tuesday, sending people running into the streets.

During the earthquake many tried to jostle for space away from already cracked structures. Patients in the city’s hospitals were moved outdoors into open spaces like car parks and more people spent the night outside after the shaking, which killed 65 and injured nearly 2,000.
“This earthquake has reminded us that there are a lot of dangerous buildings that need to be demolished,” said Bipin Gaire, a civil engineer and the founder of Bhukampa, a collective of independent, volunteer engineers formed after April 25 who’ve been assessing the structural integrity of people’s damaged homes.

Tuesday’s shaking also reminded us, said Giare, that “the government should act as soon as possible.”