In Pictures

Quake survivors spend second winter in temporary homes

Nearly two years on, the reconstruction of thousands of houses destroyed by the deadly quake remains stalled.

Rebuilding rural Nepal/ Please Do Not Use — Early morning at the home of Sharma family in Dandagaon village, in Dhading district. The area was severely affected by the 2015 earthquake. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]

The 2015 earthquake in Nepal caused unprecedented loss of life and damage to property. Nearly 9,000 people died and more than 600,000 houses, including centuries-old cultural heritage sites, were destroyed.

Nearly two years after the quake, the worst to have hit the Himalayan nation in eight decades, people in rural areas, the most severely affected, are still living in improvised sheds or under tin roofs.

Despite the international community’s pledge to rebuild the country, the promised money has yet to reach those in need.

According to Cold Feet Foundation Nepal, a local NGO, people have so far received only $500 out of the $2,000 promised by the government in compensation to rebuild their homes.

Nepal is one of the least developed countries in Asia, with per capita income comparable with the poorest countries in the world. Rebuilding is an onerous task and uncertainties over regulatory mechanisms and new building codes have further delayed the reconstruction process.

Thousands of Nepalese have now endured two bitterly cold winters living in improvised shelters and it seems they may have to face another monsoon season without proper homes.