One year after the earthquake disaster, what is Nepal like now?

(Baonghean.vn) - One year after the worst earthquake in Nepal's history on April 25, 2015, the Himalayan nation commemorates the 9,000 victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the aftershocks that followed 17 days later.

People are still living in makeshift shelters.

Of the 181 foreigners who died or went missing, 63 were in Langtang – the area worst affected by the earthquake.

Kartok Lama, a local resident, said that people commemorated the earthquake according to the Tibetan calendar. They had to pray in huts because the monasteries and temples had all been destroyed.

The landscape has almost returned to how it was before the earthquake.

The villagers have all returned, and they are rebuilding houses and hotels to welcome tourists back.

The memorial service in Langtang will take place after the national memorial service on the exact anniversary of the earthquake, one year prior to the Nepalese calendar, at the former site of the Dharahara tower.

There will be a candlelight vigil at night; however, the ceremony will not be elaborate because one-seventh of Nepalese people are still living in makeshift homes or shelters.

Before the earthquake, this place was a temple in Bashantapur Durbar Square.

For many Nepalese, the past year has been a year of loss due to disagreements over the new constitution, India's border closure, and mismanagement of $4.1 billion in US foreign aid.

Tourism, which accounts for 9% of GDP, has suffered a severe decline. It takes a long time for climbers to return, and the number of people granted permits to climb Everest has decreased significantly compared to the previous year.

Following the avalanche that killed 18 people after the earthquake, people have been reconsidering spending $50,000 or more to climb to the top of the world.

Thanh Hien

(According to Reuters)