A KERANG man in Nepal during the April 25 earthquake has painted a chaotic picture of the moment when disaster struck.
Zac George was waiting to board his flight back to Australia at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu when the 7.8 magnitude quake hit.
“Parts of the ceiling were falling down, parts of the flooring were quite cracked up,” Mr George said.
“People were running for the door and screaming.
“For me personally I couldn’t quite comprehend at the time that it was an earthquake.”
The tiny airport, infamous for its single runway, was temporarily shut down and Mr George remained on the immigration side of the border until the airport reopened later that evening.
The nurse had been in the country for six weeks before the quake — dividing his time between the Mt Everest base camp and delivering medical aid with an international NGO called TrekMedic.
“Unique would be a good word to describe [Nepal],” said Mr George.
“It’s a friendly, safe country.
“Very rugged but it can also be very beautiful, depending where you go.”
As a TrekMedic volunteer Mr George trekked to remote areas of Nepal’s north west, administering medical aid to locals.
Mr George says the region was reminiscent in some ways of his own backyard.
“There it’s similar to country areas here, there’s lots of vegetation,” he said.
“Certainly around the Annapurna region people had their own mini-farms.
They have a small plot where they grow potatoes and grain.”
But Mr George says that Nepal will overcome the disaster.
“The Nepali people are very very tough,” Mr George said.
“They are living in a third world country, they’ve made their home in the mountains.
“Some might have their houses knocked down, some might lose their family members…a lot of people in the regions won’t have running water, it will be a tough thing for them but they will surpass it, of that I am sure.”
TrekMedic is currently coordinating efforts to send Australian health professionals to remote areas of Nepal.
To find out how you can help, visit the TrekMedic Facebook page.
