1pm Sunday afternoon and folk seem slightly less apprehensive. There hasn't been any seismic activity since yesterday - April 25th 2015, The day of infamy, now being referred to by the media as the "Great Quake". An encampment of about 12 tents still pitched on the grazing meadow, temporary home to some of the more vulnerable families in those pebble and clay clad'd structures.
No reply yet from my email sent to the guesthouse I had been bunking down in just hours before the rupture - although I do know Kathmandu wasn't completely flattened and the tourist hotspot of Thamel on the whole escaped the worst according to postings on 'Thorn tree Forum' - a glimmer of hope then that Ram Singh and family have survived.
It's a warm sunny afternoon, kids playing games on the meadow, squealing, laughing and carefree. Just about everyone based locally has gathered, sitting in family groups, sharing their spicy snacks and talking over the events unfolding in Kathmandu and across the rural districts of Nepal. It's becoming apparent that rural localities are feared worst off with supply routes cut - no access to the hills it seems.
Without warning, here it is! The ground moves left and slightly rises, then to the right with a succession of vibrations. Kids screaming running to their parents as the shopping centre nearby sways with people on the balconies running. The large glass windows rattling, pounding and ready to explode. It's the noise coming from the ground, that's the frightening aspect of this quake, that and of course the unknown quantity of this latest shock at 1.30pm - thankfully it's over in 2 seconds. An eerie feeling descends as folk contemplate what has just happened. News is spreading that it was an aftershock of 6.7 magnitude and originating from yesterday's main quake - further damage in Kathmandu and the rural districts. Thankfully, the shopping centre here has survived in one piece, no reports yet of any other damage in Pokhara.
