North Carolina-based Samaritan's Purse is sending more than 40 tons of aid to Nepal, as rescue teams race to find survivors from last week's catastrophic flooding along the Chinese border. The combined deaths in Nepal and China surpassed 950, with more than 4,400 people missing.
A Boeing 767 cargo plane from the Christian relief group left Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro Monday morning. It's expected to arrive in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Wednesday, according to response manager Heather Armstrong.
"We have a small team on the ground that's focused on unloading the supplies, getting them to our local partners, and these are organizations that we've worked with for several years," she said. "They're trusted partners, and they are working to distribute the supplies to meet the needs of the people on the ground.
The shipment includes non-food items such as hygiene kits, blankets, tarps, water filters, and solar lights. Trucks will carry the aid from Kathmandu to the flood zone, but there are logistical challenges due to the scale of devastation.
"A lot of places are inaccessible by road, and so on the ground there's a sort of military base that has been turned into a center," Armstrong said. "A lot of people are being evacuated by helicopter."
The Samaritan's Purse airlift comes as the U.S. has pledged more than $3.5 million in aid. About 85 Americans remain missing in the aftermath of the flood.
In the meantime, rescuers are racing to free hundreds of workers believed to be trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites that were buried in mud. The efforts unfolded Monday as the death toll climbed and increasingly desperate families searched for missing loved ones. A private-sector association representing power companies called Independent Power Producers’ Association (IPPAN) says at least 900 workers are unaccounted for at 12 damaged hydropower projects. About 500 of those workers were believed to be trapped in tunnels
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Saturday, Oct. 3 · American Tobacco Campus, Durham
Celebrating 50 years of community.
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