On 25 April, the country of Nepal was struck by a 7.8 Magnitude earthquake, one of the most powerful in 80 years, leaving over 6000 dead.

The earthquake took place thanks to the buildup of pressure between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate which have been slowly colliding with each other over the past millions of years. The force of the quake was so powerful that it shifted Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, 10 feet south from its original location.

The damage to the city has been significant, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the collapse of Kathmandu’s tallest building, the Dharahara watchtower. Due to poor infrastructure, response teams had a hard time assessing the damage outside of the capital.

“The helicopters are small. They don’t fly in windy and cloudy conditions. Given Nepal’s geographical terrain, we cannot use surface transport much but are using it,” Nepali Home Ministry Joint Secretary Sagar Mani Parajuli told CNN. “We need 150,000 tents and tarpaulins, but we don’t have enough of them.”

The earthquake has also triggered avalanches on Mt. Everest, heavily impacting the Base Camps. Nineteen climbers died, including Dan Fredinburg, a major programmer for Google. It is now considered Everest’s deadliest incident.

International response has been quick, with millions pouring in across the world, and militaries such as the Israeli Defense Force, the Indian Army, and American personnel being deployed to assist in relief and rescues.

Due to undeveloped infrastructure in the nation, relief and reconstruction will be slow due to the millions in need of assistance.

“We should start a fundraiser,” junior Alex Jones said. “A coin drive at lunch would be great; even donations at the next coffeehouse will be a big boost.”

NHS currently has plans to start fundraising for Nepal for the next month.

Meanwhile in Nepal, the death toll is expected to rise.

Kenneth Tran, Staff Writer

Senior Kenneth Tran is a staff writer for the 2014-2015 “Colonel”. He is co-leader of the Amnesty International club and participates in the National Ocean Science Bowl.