The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday could more than double from 4,349 to over 10,000, Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said. More than 7,000 people have been reported injured and thousands more displaced by the quake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale. “The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing. It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal," Koirala said.

Four days after the earthquake, rescue teams have still not reached some of the worst-affected areas in the country, which is why the official death toll is likely to go up.

 

The major obstacle to relief efforts is the heavy rain that has been continuing well into the fourth day after the tragedy struck, adding to the suffering of the people who have been camping out in the open, afraid of going indoors for the fear of another earthquake.

 

 

The damage is estimated to be up to 10 billion dollars and may exceed the entire gross domestic product of the country, experts have warned.


 

 

There have been countless aftershocks, including a major tremor on Sunday, but the situation seems to have calmed down for the moment.



Bhaktapur, a city that is 13 kilometres east of Kathmandu, wore a damaged look, as revealed by footage shot by Umesh Shrestha and uploaded by journalist Salokya.



Over eight million people have been affected by the earthquake, the United Nations has said.  An estimated 1.4 million people are in need of immediate help, Geoff Pinnock, emergencies officer at the World Food Programme, said, adding that eight places have been identified as needing critical help and the "focus is on relief operations in those places".

Big aftershocks could continue for another one to two years, according to a forecast by Andrew Michael and colleagues at the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California, USA.



This point-of-view video, shot by German climber Jost Kobusch, shows the scenes that unfolded as an avalanche tore through the base camps at Mount Everest.

Here are some of their photos of daily struggles after the earthquake from the Nepal Photo Project, a photography collective powered by Instagram, that aims to be "building visual bridges in Nepal through mobile story telling."













Here is another drone footage of the aftermath of the earthquake.



The Nepal army and the Indian armed forces are working together in the rescue and relief operations.