KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nearly a week after a massive earthquake killed more than 6,200 people and collapsed buildings, temples and homes, Nepal urgently needs basic aid like shelter and food, while remote villages remain cut off.
Aid workers face “immense logistical challenges,” said U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos on Friday, noting that the scale of the devastation in Nepal would be an obstacle for any government.
The United Nations has estimated the magnitude-7.8 quake that struck April 25 affected 8.1 million people — more than a fourth of Nepal’s population of 27.8 million.
The government announced it was giving the equivalent of $1,000 to families of each person killed and another $400 for funeral costs, state-run Nepal Radio said Friday.
More than 130,000 houses were destroyed in the quake, according to the U.N. humanitarian office.
Near the epicenter, north of Kathmandu, whole villages were in ruins.
