00:00Let's get more on the disaster unfolding along the China-Nippur border.
00:04Thomas Udala-Longa is the spokesperson for the International Federation of the Red Cross.
00:10Well, the situation is still very complicated.
00:13The stories that we're reading are really shocking.
00:17Still, infrastructure, it's a big challenge, it's a big issue.
00:23Of course, as we know, entire villages were wiped out,
00:27and together with villages, no bridges are anymore there, no roads anymore there,
00:31so even access to some of the areas is still a challenge.
00:34Now, on the bright side, Nepalese Red Cross teams were already part of the community,
00:39immediately worked to support the affected people with first aid,
00:44supporting search and rescue operations, and starting some distribution.
00:47We do hope that we're able to scale up in the coming hours.
00:51And we understand nearly 1,000 people are still missing at this point.
00:55Are rescue teams still hopeful of finding people alive?
00:59And what are the biggest challenges facing search and rescue operations?
01:03Sure, the hope is still there.
01:05We know by experience that there is a window of 72, 96 hours,
01:10sometimes even more, to find people alive under the rubbles, under the mud in this case.
01:16So, of course, the work is still ongoing.
01:19Then the challenge is, again, is access.
01:22In some situations, it's only by helicopters.
01:25And also, for instance, today there was this alert of new floods.
01:29Unfortunately, it then was not anymore there, but for a while, emergency response was stopped.
01:34So, the situation is really evolving minute after minute,
01:37and we do hope to get more survivals, as some good news has happened in the last few hours.
01:44But then, yeah, the issue is really running around the clock to find people alive.
01:50And what are the most urgent needs right now?
01:53Shelter, clean water, food or medical care?
01:57I would say a combination of all what you mentioned.
01:59Of course, the first priority is to find people alive, but also to put them in safety,
02:05so even in higher grounds.
02:07And then emergency shelter is surely a priority.
02:10I would also add water, safe and drinkable water.
02:13It's really critical for the people, for health facilities, and also for water sanitation purposes.
02:19And based on what you have heard from the teams on the ground,
02:22and what do they need the most, and are we worried about any secondary disasters?
02:30Well, what they need the most now is, of course, try to overcome as a sector,
02:37and, of course, together with local and national authorities, the access issue,
02:40to scale up as much as possible distribution and to get all the aid that is needed.
02:46Then the secondary disaster overlapping crisis, of course, it's a looming threat that is always there.
02:51By experience, we know, for instance, that drinking safe and drinkable water is critical to prevent further diseases.
03:00And then, after the emergency response, we have to look at the mid- and long-term recovery.
03:05And this is why yesterday we launched an emergency appeal for 25 million Swiss franc,
03:10almost 31 million U.S. dollars, really, to look at a 24-month time frame,
03:17because this disaster is so huge and so catastrophic that the people of Nepal will need help,
03:22not only in the weeks to come, but in the months and years to come.
