Story

Nepal Earthquake Anniversary

April 21, 2016 | The Christian Science Monitor
By
Ann Hermes

Shanta Basnet pours water from the family tap outside their temporary shelter in Amppipal, Nepal. Reconstruction after the earthquake in April 2015 is slow as the government has stalled in distributing aid to both Kathmandu and the villages damaged near the epicenter. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Hom Bahadur Basnet on stands next to the ruins of his home in the village of Amppipal, about 15 miles from the epicenter of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

A boy skateboards next to reinforcements on a building in Basantapur Durbar Square, a World Heritage Site, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Man Pur Chaudhazy bends reinforcing steel near the foundation of the Kantipur Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal. Construction on the hotel started before the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal and was stalled for several weeks as construction workers brought homes down that were badly damaged. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Jaya Prakash Narayan Seingh works on the foundation of the Kantipur Hotel which will be geared to tourists in Kathmandu, Nepal. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

A security guard watches visitors from his post next to Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal. The World Heritage Site, built in 1770, was damaged in the 2015 earthquake. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Shanta Basnet says goodbye to her grandson, Samir Jung Basnet, who is off to school, as her daughter-in-law Anita Basnet, and daughter Goma Basnet look in Amppipal, Nepal. Reconstruction after the earthquake in April 2015 is slow as the government has stalled in distributing aid to both Kathmandu and the villages damaged near the epicenter. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Visitors pass through the Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal. The World Heritage Site, built in 1770, was damaged in the 2015 earthquake. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Damaged in the 2015 earthquake, an old home sits in ruins in Amppipal, Nepal. The small village of Amppipal sits about 15 miles southwest of the epicenter of the first earthquake. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Villagers reconstruct their shed in the village of Amppipal.

Construction workers rebuild a shop owner's business in the village of Amppipal. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

View of construction is underway on damaged homes in the capital Kathmandul. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Goma Basnet (l.) cooks with her mother, Shanta Basnet in their temporary shelter in Amppipal. After the family's home was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, they constructed a temporary shelter of corrugated metal sheets and salvaged wood, where they will spend their second monsoon season. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Goma Basnet and her son Samir Jung Basnet watch their goats on the hillside in Amppipal. Image by Ann Hermes, Nepal, 2016.

Grantee Ann Hermes photographs life in Nepal a year after the devastating April 2015 earthquake. Reconstruction after the earthquake has been slow as the government stalled in distributing aid to both Kathmandu and the villages damaged near the epicenter.