Nepal: Red Cross says many still in dire need of aid

(Vatican Radio)  In Nepal, the Red Cross says towns and villages near the epicentre of the earthquake have suffered "almost total devastation.” Survivors in these areas are reported to be in a desperate situation.  

Patrick Fuller is a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and is currently in the Nepalese capital, Katmandu. He spoke to Susy Hodges. 

Listen to the full interview from Katmandu with Patrick Fuller of the Red Cross: 

Fuller says that people in remote areas of Nepal that were worst affected by the earthquake are “in dire need of assistance” and “not much relief aid has got through to them yet.” In some of the villages, 90 percent of the buildings are destroyed and the survivors are living in “very difficult circumstances” with a lack of shelter, adequate food and clean drinking water.  

Fuller also describes the “frustration and anger” among survivors over the slow pace of the relief operation. 

“Things (the relief operation) haven’t moved fast enough and in sufficient volume”, he said.  

Fuller pointed out that these delays are exacerbated by severe logistic problems, such as lack of aircraft, very poor roads and many remote mountain villages that can only be reached by trekking there on foot.