people of nuwakot are surviving hardly after earthquake>>watch video

Advertisement Nepal is home to the world's highest mountain and is wedged between two growing economic superpowers, but it is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Now it is struggling to cope with the worst earthquake to hit the Himalayan nation in 80 years. The magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck some 80km northwest of the capital Kathmandu and has affected eight million people, just under one-third of the population with upwards of 5,000 people killed.

The economic losses could be as much as $10bn, according to an estimate from US Geological Survey. The cost of rebuilding is $5bn, according to IHS. All this in a country with economic growth that was already expected to slow, with an unemployment rate of more than 40 percent, and a reliance on agriculture, tourism and remittances to support its $19bn economy.

The international support has rolled in led by Nepal's closest neigbours. India despatched 16 military and civilian aircraft, eight helicopters and 1,000 members of its National Disaster Response. Nepal's northern neighbour China has a 62 member search and rescue team on the ground and has pledged more than $10m to the effort. The Asian Development Bank has given $3m for humanitarian efforts and pledged another $200m for reconstruction work.

And every last dollar will be needed, when you see the enormity of the task. Our correspondent Andrew Simmons reports on what the Nepalese Army has been doing, and trying to do, in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. Advertisement