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Nepal earthquake hits close to Durango

Local man’s family members missing in Nepal
Ram Thapa, a chef with the Himalayan Kitchen in Durango, said he is deeply saddened for his home country, Nepal. His village and his family’s homes were destroyed during the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the Kathmandu region shortly before noon Sunday, Nepal Standard Time. His family is safe, but family members are sleeping in tents with few resources.

After the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal, killing more than 3,200 people, the world raced to respond and mobilize to search for the missing and deal with unsound buildings in and around Kathmandu, much of which is in ruins.

The effects have been felt across the world, and Durango is no exception.

Ram Thapa, chef at the Himalayan Kitchen in Durango, said his village is gone, but his family is safe.

“All homes,” he said. “No homes left. My mother, my brothers, my family are all outside sleeping. No homes.”

Thapa, his wife and four children are in Durango, but he said he is saddened, thinking of Nepal, not just his village near Kathmandu.

“All Nepal is my family,” he said.

Like countless others, he said his mother and brothers are forced to sleep outside with no shelter.

“No sleep, all night,” he said.

Soman Sherpa, also employed at the Himalayan, fears as the search continues more tragedies will be revealed.

“Many people died,” he said. “More people everyday.”

Jyamu Bhotia, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Karma Bhotia, said her husband was in the region when the quake hit, but he was a safe distance from the destruction it caused.

Bhotia said all of her employees are struggling to cope.

“They have a hard time. Everyone has family over there, and everyone has tried to call their family, and some of them are not contacting,” she said.

In the kitchen Sunday, one employee held a smartphone showing photos of missing family members.

In Nepal, the ground is still shaking. Aftershocks have been occurring, and the remains of many villages are damaged and unstable – forming unpredictable danger zones.

“It’s still shaking the ground, outside the houses, and they have 72 hours not to get into house, and it’s so windy and rainy, and they have to stay outside and sleep,” Bhotia said. “No electricity, and then go to get food; there’s so much going on. It’s still falling, everything is falling still. They have no sleep in the night. We, too, have no sleep. We are waiting for the answer. We are waiting for family phone calls.”

At least 15 international search-and-rescue missions are underway. The quake, which hit Sunday morning Nepal Standard Time, is the worst earthquake to strike the region since 1934.

With tears mounting, Jyamu Bhotia said she is waiting for her husband to return.

bmathis@durangoherald.com

Jun 29, 2015
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