Video: MSU Students from Nepal Talk about Devastating Earthquake, Collect Donations

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The death toll continues to rise in Nepal as search and rescue crews dig through the rubble looking for possible survivors.

The mountainous area that Nepal sits in has had four earthquakes near 8.0 in the last century. The latest castrophic earthquake has killed over three thousand people so far.

Now students born in Nepal and staff at Mississippi State are talking about the tragedy and what we all can do to help.

“The first thing that comes to our minds is our families. We tried to contact our family,” says Bioengineering Graduate Student, Ritesh Karki.

Karki says he and other Nepalese friends were celebrating at a birthday party late Friday night when they got the news of the 7.9 earthquake in Nepal.

“We tried from 1:30 to 4:30 in the morning but nobody could reach their parents. The party stopped right there and the mood was suddenly sad,” says Karki.

Karki and his friends say their families are safe but they’re still concerned about survivors. They say much of the aide coming in is centralized near the capital city and and it’s harder to get help to villagers.

“Most of the help that they’re getting from other countries is focused on the capital city, trying to get people out from the disaster area and not many people have ways to the village area where we still need a lot of help,” says System Engineering Graduate Student, Sushil Razboudel.

Karyn Brown works in the MSU Communications Department and has also adopted a son from Nepal.

“I got a message this morning from a friend of ours, saying his home was leveled. He has the shirt on his back and an internet connection. That’s all. You could tell he just wanted to talk via the internet just to have somebody,” says Brown.

There have been several aftershocks since the earthquake hit, leaving survivors camped out in the fields for safety. Retired MSU Geologist Dr. John Mylroie explains why there was so much property destroyed during the earthquake.

“Depending what the building is resting on, the soil and sediment underneath may liquify which also causes the structure to fail. So it’s a double whammy,” says Mylroie.

Below you’ll find donation information provided by the Nepal Student Association:
Nepalese Students’ Association at Mississippi State University is starting an Earthquake Relief Fund to provide financial assistance for help in relief in Nepal. The collected financial assistance will be utilized using one of the following organizations (Care Nepal, Nepal Red Cross or Save the Children). Every amount that can be collected will be very helpful in this cause.
Hence, we would like to request all of you to provide assistance and also spread the word to as many people as possible so that we can collect more fund. Donations can be made in one of the following ways:

1.. Paypal: msstate.nsa@gmail.com

2. YouCaring: http://www.youcaring.com/emergency-fundraiser/earthquake-relief-fund-for-nepal/343714

3. Direct Deposit to the following Cadence Bank Account:
Routing Number: 084201443

Account Number: 13611876