Near 3 million people still need aid in Nepal: UN

Birendra Karmacharya (L) walks past the debris of collapsed houses while holding the hand of his younger son Saksham Karmacharya, 4, along with his elder son Biyon Karmacharya (R), 9, as they head towards the school, a month after the April 25 earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal, May 31, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that some 2.8 million people remain in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the earthquake in Nepal, a UN spokesman told reporters here Tuesday.

The Nepal Flash Appeal, which has been revised down from $423 million to $422 million, is currently under-funded with only 120 million dollars having been received so far, Stephane Dujarric, the UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

"The fast-approaching monsoon season is expected to further complicate aid delivery to remote areas, which are among the worst affected," he said.

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Nepal, said the top priority is to provide vulnerable people of Nepal with the basics to ensure their survival through the monsoon.

Just before noon on April 25, a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal, killing thousands and injuring thousands more.

According to the UN, over 500,000 houses were destroyed and another 269,000 damaged by the quakes, and hundreds of thousands of people were still staying in makeshift shelters.

"Some 95,100 people who remain displaced are housed in 374 sites in 12 districts. Providing these people with shelter in the next two weeks before the rainy and cold season starts is a top priority for the responders," the UN office in Nepal said.

The UN has estimated that 1.4 million people require food assistance, due to high damage to agriculture-based livelihoods.