The earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale that struck Nepal on Saturday was the strongest in 81 years. The quake caused widespread damage, with houses and ancient temples collapsing. According to preliminary official data, so far the massive earthquake has claimed more than 2,500 lives. Slovak humanitarian organisation MAGNA will provide medical, psychological and social aid to the victims of the earthquake, particularly to children, TASR learnt from MAGNA operations director Denisa Augustínová on Sunday. Augustínová reported that MAGNA will send two four-member teams consisting of psychologists, social workers and therapists. "We'll be providing aid at hospitals and provisional centres for the earthquake victims," she told TASR. At a later stage MAGNA will also set up specialised centres for children. Civil association People in Peril (Človek v Ohrození) has joined the activities of international NGOs and launched a public fundraiser to help the victims of the Nepal natural disaster, said association PR manager Eva Sládková.
In the meantime the Foreign Affairs Ministry has reported that it's managed to establish contact with 53 out of 75 Slovaks in Nepal, one is in the hospital. Only eleven Slovaks registered their stay via the ministry's information system, but relatives have contacted ministerial staff about others via the diplomatic service hotline. Peter Susko from the ministry's press department pointed out that the situation in Nepal is still chaotic and has been exacerbated by communication blackouts.
