Nearly a million children have been “severely affected” by the earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday, a spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has told.
As rescue and aid workers struggle to cope with the rising death toll of 3,218, and more than 6,500 injured, hundreds of thousands of Nepalis are sleeping out in tents or in the open.
UNICEF said its relief workers were watching for waterborne and infectious diseases.
Few reports have managed to come out of Gorkha district, one of the worst-hit areas in Nepal by the earthquake.
Roughly 270,000 live in the mountainous region, in the middle of the country, with photos pointing at widespread damage.
Thousands have spent a second night outside after the 7.8-magnitude quake, which also triggered deadly avalanches on Mount Everest.
Vast tent cities have sprung up in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, for those displaced or afraid to return to their homes as strong aftershocks continue.
“We don’t have a choice, our house is shaky. The rain is seeping in but what can we do?” 34-year-old shopkeeper Rabi Shrestha, who was sleeping by the roadside with his family, told AFP news agency.
Rescue missions and aid have started arriving to help cope with the aftermath of the earthquake, the worst to hit Nepal for more than 80 years.
The weather cleared on Monday morning and helicopters are heading out to the Mount Everest base camp to try to bring down injured climbers, the BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder in Kathmundu reports.
The roads to the earthquake’s epicentre, northwest of the capital, have also been cleared and rescue teams are heading out.
