• World
  • Nepal

The Nepal Earthquakes Are Now the Nation’s Deadliest-Ever Disasters

1 minute read

On Sunday, Nepal’s Home Ministry confirmed at least 8,583 deaths from the past month’s two major earthquakes and subsequent tremors, making the combined disaster the deadliest in the country’s history, reports Reuters.

The last massive temblor to rock the landlocked Himalayan nation killed 8,519 people in 1934.

On April 25, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake erupted approximately 85 miles east of the capital, Kathmandu, killing more than 8,000 people and destroying a half-million homes nationwide. Three weeks later the country was struck again by a 7.3-magnitude tremor near Mount Everest that killed more than 100 people and triggered fresh landslides.

MORE: 6 Ways You Can Give to Nepal Earthquake Relief

U.N. officials report that millions of people remain in need of basic humanitarian assistance as the looming monsoon threatens to inundate the country’s fragile transportation network and hamper ongoing aid efforts.

[Reuters]

James Nachtwey’s Dispatches From Nepal - Part 2

Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
Bishnu Gurung sobs after her 3-year-old daughter, Rejina Gurung, was found buried in the rubble in the village of Gumda in Gorkha district, near the epicenter of last month's Nepal earthquake, on May 8, 2015. The baby’s father is a guest worker in Malaysia. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
Bishnu Gurung weeps at the funeral of her 3-year-old daughter who was discovered buried in rubble in Gumda, a village in Nepal’s Gorkha district, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
Inhabitants salvage building materials from their destroyed homes in Gumda Village, near the epicenter of the earthquake in Gorkha district, where five people died and 14 are still missing in landslides, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
A villager salvages building supplies in Gumda, in the Gorkha district of Nepal, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated  by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters.  by James Nachtwey
A boy who was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet sits with his father after being evacuated by an Indian army helicopter, May 3, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated  by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters.  by James Nachtwey
An injured boy and his father are evacuated by the Indian army from a remote Himalayan village, May 3, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated  by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters.  by James Nachtwey
View from the window of a helicopter during relief operations to remote mountain villages in Nepal, May 2, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated  by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters.  by James Nachtwey
The Indian army evacuates monks from the Hinang Gompa monastery in Lhi, a village in the Gorkha district, in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas, May 2, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Young Buddhist monks from Hinang Gompa (monastery) in the village of Lhi in Gorkha district in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas were transported by Indian Army helicopter to Pokhara because the monastery was damaged in the earthquake. A boy was injured in the mountain village of Dhunchet and with his father was evacuated  by Indian Army helicopter. Mountain villages outside Pokhara that were destroyed. Food drops by Indian Army helicopters.  by James Nachtwey
Young Buddhist monks gaze out of a helicopter as they are evacuated by the Indian army from a monastery in the Himalayas, May 2, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Inhabitants salvaging building materials and possessions from their destroyed houses. by James Nachtwey
In Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake, inhabitants sift through the wreckage looking for possessions from their destroyed houses, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
Villagers look through rubble in Barpak, Nepal, May 5, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
A villager stands among the ruins of the destroyed houses in Barpak, Nepal, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
Saainli Gurung weeps during the funeral of her son, Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who was found in the rubble in Barpak, Nepal, May 5, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his mother, looks for possessions from his house in Barpak, Nepal, May 5, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
At the epicenter of the quake in Barpak, Nepal, where homes once stood, stones and wooden frames were all that remained. May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Funeral of Pur Bahadur Gurung, 26, who had just been dug out of the rubble. Saainli Gurung, his mother weeping. Scenes of villagers salvaging building materials and personal possessions. Dhan Raj Ghale, 30, dressed in mourning garb after the death of his wite, salvaging buildings materials and possessions from his house. by James Nachtwey
A man lifts debris from a flattened structure in Barpak, Nepal, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Barpak, the epicenter of the earthquake. Inhabitants salvaging building materials and possessions from their destroyed houses. by James Nachtwey
A woman stands among the wreckage in Barpak, Nepal, May 6, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Gumda Village, in Ghorka district. 5 people died and 14 are still missing in landslides. Inhabitants salvaging building materials from their destroyed houses. Funeral of Rejina Gurung, 3 who was just discovered buried in the rubble. Her mother, Bishnu Gurung, weeping in mourning. Rejina's father, Chabilal Gurung is a guest worker in Malaysia. by James Nachtwey
A woman walks in the remote village of Gumda in Ghorka district, Nepal, May 8, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com