60 Hours after the Earthquake

When the Nepal earthquake took place on 25 April I was right in Kathmandu, ready to receive the 7 volunteers from Hong Kong who were originally scheduled to arrive that night for the Love and Light Workcamp. Who would have thought of encountering a massive earthquake that occurs only once in a hundred years (the previous huge earthquake in Nepal was 80 years ago).

A few days before the earthquake

After arriving at Kathmandu from Pokhara by bus on 20 April, I caught the flu the next day – it got serious and I was in bed for two days. Intestinal flu developed, and for two days I suffered from diarrhoea. I therefore didn’t move about much and was resting in the hostel most of the time. It was only until 24 April evening when two Hong Kong volunteers arrived early that I visited the local market with them on 25 April morning.

Close to noon when the big earthquake was about to happen, they were planning to go to Dubar Square. I decided to return to the hostel to rest as I had not fully recovered from the illness. On the way back, I dropped by a bookstore to check out some books.

The rocking moments

I was sitting on a low chair when suddenly I felt clearly that a thump of the heart of the earth. My intuition told me, “This is earthquake; run!” However, the apparently rationally trained mind said, “Impossible!” Very soon after, it was obvious that the heart of the earth started to pump continuously. I saw the bookstore owner getting up quickly and running towards the door. I instinctively dashed for the exit too – when at the same time I heard loud noises of books falling – I thought to myself: “Run faster or get buried in the books!”

Books in the bookstore all over the ground after the earthquake

It was not easy to run; it felt like standing on the deck of a rocking ship. I made my way to the door swaying from side to side, but the exit was small – I remember pressing my hand on the back of the bookstore owner in pink t-shirt, thinking: “Goodness, get out more quickly.” Luckily there were not many customers in the store, or we could have been trapped in it.

Outside the door was a road, and everyone had rushed out. There were screams and sounds of window frames swinging. As I swayed my way forward, a woman tourist for some reason tried to make her way back to the bookstore. I grabbed her and dragged her to the road, saying, “Beware the windows may fall down!” At that moment, her boyfriend hurried over too to protect her, and we swayed our way back to the centre of the road together.

Everyone ran for the streets when the earthquake took place

The earth was shaking even more violently. I looked up and saw a dark sky, dust flying, birds fleeting, crows crying. I didn’t know how scared I looked, but the people around were petrified, and my heart was beating fast. I noticed that all the windows in the three-storey buildings on both sides were making creaking noises, and thought: “These windows may fall down anytime. Get out of here.” As I was going to move along the road, the earth stopped shaking.

12 hours after the quake

Where I was in the outskirts of Thamel, Kathmandu was one of the newer areas, and so only some of the lamp posts and walls had collapsed. On return to the hostel, I reunited with the two Hong Kong volunteers and learnt that they had a narrow escape. Looking at their photos, Dubar Square was seriously damaged; the monuments all turned into rubble!

Collapsed lamp post in the new area where I was located

The entire wall near the hostel fell down

Tower in Dubar reduced to flat land within seconds (photo by Franco)

We and many travellers in the hostel were in the lobby, trying to connect with the unstable internet network. My mobile 3G signals were on and off; there was traffic jam on the telecom network as I tried to call the chairman of the children’s home. At that point, to put safety the priority, the volunteering organization in Hong Kong and I decided to cancel the week-long workcamp. Fortunately, the 6 Hong Kong volunteers had yet to set off, although one volunteer was transiting in Kuala Lumpur and was stuck there due to the closure of the Nepal airport.

At dusk, a number of travellers took their sleeping bags planning to spend the night outdoors. At first, we had no such plan; but we ran outside in fear each time there was aftershock and, as there was forecast that there would be a strong aftershock that evening, we borrowed blankets from the hostel to spend the night outside. We were lucky that it was not too cold, and even when it rained at midnight it was only a short drizzle. So we felt rest assured staying outdoors on this day of the huge earthquake. Rest assured because even if there were a few strong aftershocks throughout the night, we could get back to sleep after having been shaken awake as we were already outside.

My yoga mat proved useful for spending the night outdoors

24 hours after the quake

At 6:30am on 26 April, we unexpectedly ran into the minivan driver hired by our workcamp. I had not been able to get in touch with him since the network could not connect. After discussing with Amrit, we decided to postpone our departure because even if we were to leave Kathmandu on the day, there might still be landslides from aftershock on the road to Pokhara. The two Hong Kong volunteers wanted to return to Hong Kong immediately, and so we parted ways. I went with Amrit to stay at his sister and brother-in-law’s.

Their home was in a new residential area outside of the town centre, and was not much affected. Several buildings, with their foundations having been affected, did not look straight, while the rooftop of one building had a large piece of cement hanging in the air. Even so, the residents of the area all camped out in fear of damage that might be caused by aftershocks.

Residents with homes that they could not return to

Deeply touched by the residents’ donating blood courageously

It felt warm to see Amrit’s big family of nine, together with several neighbours, helping each other out – cooking and eating together, and camping in the same tent. When they gave me the freshly prepared hot Dhal Bhat (lentil rice and vegetables, a local main meal), I was moved. That was my first proper meal 24 hours after the quake.

36 hours after the quake

For the entire afternoon that followed, we for fear of aftershocks stayed in the tent like camping and picnicking in the countryside. What was different was that during the occasional aftershocks, people ran out of the tents in panic. All we talked about was related to the earthquake, and we kept paying attention to the news on the radio. The area was out of electricity and running water, and the network disconnected often. We only managed with difficulty to charge our phones, to keep in touch with the outside world.

It rained in the evening and the temperature dropped substantially. My thoughts were with the people in Nepal whose homes had been destroyed, hoping they could find shelter. On the other hand, those of us here with homes that could not be returned to were not too comfortable either. 20 people hid in a tent, with the rain reducing the area in which we could sleep. We had to share 3 blankets among the 20 of us on this cold night.

48 hours after the quake

When at last it was dawn – after having been “shaken up” for a number of times by aftershocks – I was grateful beyond words when I saw the first sunrise after the earthquake and it was all sunny and bright. It was not an easy thing to be alive!

The aftershocks reduced in the afternoon, and Amrit, his brother’s family and I decided to return to Pokhara. Amrit’s sister was worried, asking them in tears not to go, so that they could stay together safely as a family. Nonetheless, they decided to go back because Amrit’s mother was by herself in Pokhara.

Kathmandu in ruins on the drive to Pokhara

We learnt from the news that the relief work by the government was mainly in Kathmandu and had yet to reach the villages near the epicentre. As we were doing fine, Amrit and I decided to help by fundraising, in the hope of providing food, clothes and tents for the victims.

60 hours after the quake

After an 11-hour drive, we finally returned to relatively calm Pokhara and saw the ten little angels in the children’s home again. Two people died in Pokhara during the earthquake, compared with some 4000 (and still counting) in Kathmandu.

The little angels alive and well, not affected by the trauma of the quake

A journalist asked me: when to return to Hong Kong? I said, no plans yet.

When the Hong Kong volunteering organization asked if I would take the charter flight to return home, I declined without thinking.

I did not feel I wanted to escape from Nepal, but to go to the places in need and do my best to help with my money and effort. Why? Perhaps all these years of volunteering, travelling and living in different countries have made me realize deeply that I am part of the global village.

I replied to the journalist, “Nepal is my home.” “In fact, the world is my home.”

If you wish to help Nepal, a nice and lovely country, we are fundraising now to provide the locals who have yet to receive any assistance with food, clothes, tents etc. See for details: www.facebook.com/lightonnepal