Richards Bay family survive Nepal quake

A RICHARDS Bay family was among the more than one million people caught in the sequence of earthquakes that shook Nepal during the weekend.

Mission workers Andy and Laura Bleakley were home with their daughter Hadassah (3) and son Asher (5) when the first quake, estimated at a massive magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck an area between the capital, Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara.

‘We fled out with our two kids and slept outside last night with many others,’ Andy told the Zululand Observer early yesterday (Sunday) morning.

‘There have been many large aftershocks and the ground is still moving.

‘Much of our school hall has collapsed.’

At 10am, yet another significant quake, with a magnitude of 6.7, shook the area.

‘We are huddled in a yard with our landlords and some neighbours,’ said Andy in an update.

‘Many perimeter walls have fallen in our area, Dhobighat, but newer houses that have been earthquake-proofed are still standing.

‘Older traditional houses have big problems – our friends’ house collapsed.

‘People are terrified every time an aftershock quake comes.’

Yesterday, a death toll of 1 910 was reported by Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs official Laxmi Dhakal, and fatalities are still expected to rise as the full extent of damage is being assessed.

‘A huge thank you for all of your prayers,’ said Laura on her Facebook page.

‘Please concentrate your prayers on those still buried in rubble and the families of the thousands who have lost their lives.

‘We give God praise that we live to see another day.’