Everything shakes. Glasses are making sounds, things fall down from the shelf. An earthquake is always something frightening. As a Californian, you know that.

Two weeks ago, on April 25, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale hit Nepal, 80 kilometers away from the capital city of Kathmandu, leaving devastating damage behind. That is 1000 times the magnitude of the earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1989, which had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter Scale.

The number of casualties goes up by the day. So far, government officials are talking about over 4,000 deaths. Because Nepal is a economically weak country with a lot of high mountains, the rescue is difficult. Nepal possesses only a few helicopters to supply the villages high up in the mountains. It is expected that there are still hundreds of people buried underneath their homes. And at the same time, there are still aftershocks coming in.

Countries all around the globe are trying to help Nepal. Right now, India is the leading nation and is supplying its neighbor country with all that is mandatory to recover as fast as possible from this tragedy. However, since Nepal has only one international airport, the worldwide support takes a long time to reach its final destinations.

Nepal is considered as one of the most important countries for mountain climbers. Because of the Himalaya and its high summits, mountain climbers from all around the world travel to Nepal. After the earthquake, news reports about avalanches are reaching the news stations.
Several important World heritage sites, like the Vatsala Durga temple in Bhaktapur, got destroyed in the earthquake. The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization) said that it will take years to rebuild them, if it is even possible.

*UPDATE, May 14*

Just as the people in Nepal thought they could start to rebuild after the devastating earthquake 3 weeks ago, the earth shook. Again. With a magnitude of 7.3 the earthquake hit the area around Mt. Everest on Tuesday, May 12.

After the first major earthquake, Nepal is still suffering from the aftermath. Just as the worldwide support started to slowly improve the situation in the country, another devastating earthquake hit. A lot of people in Nepal already had no place to seek shelter. Now, after another earthquake hit the country, the few spots that were still intact have suffered damage too. The situation appears worse than bad.

So far, local sources talk about 66 casualties from the recent earthquake. Meanwhile the real consequences of the initial earthquake have been becoming clearer. The number of casualties climbed to over 8,000 in the last week.

Worldwide support has been sent in to improve the situation in the country. The United States sent helicopters and Marines. However, the United States lost the connection to one of its helicopters that was transporting supplies for the villages high up in the mountains. Right now, no more information is available about this situation.

After this earthquake, Nepal requires even more help. Donations are being collected in every developed country right now. Many volunteers from all around the world are going to Nepal to help manage this crisis.

Donations for Nepal are needed. Money, clothes and other items can be used to help the people recover from their traumatic experience. Donations can be made at UNICEF USA or at the American Red Cross. The biggest hope right now is that all the earthquakes are over and the cleanup work can begin. Again.