MOSCOW, April 29 (Sputnik) — A 7.8 magnitude earthquake took place about 82 kilometers (51 miles) northwest of Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Saturday. Over 5,000 people were killed in the disaster, including dozens of Mount Everest climbers who died in earthquake-triggered avalanches.
“WFP plans to provide food for 1.4 million people in urgent need of assistance over the next three months,” the UN agency said in a statement. The estimated cost of the operation is $116.5 million.
Rice deliveries in the Gorkha region, the epicenter of the earthquake, are set to begin Wednesday, WFP said.
The aid operation is complicated by landslides and poor roads, and remote villages inaccessible by road will have food delivered by helicopters.
