Pocatello doctor: Latest quake sets back relief efforts

Less than 24 hours after returning from a nearly two-week relief mission to earthquake-striken Nepal, Pocatello Dr. Fahim Rahim said he was surprised to learn of another earthquake.

It struck many of the same villages he and his team of several hundred volunteers visited, and he said a lot of the work they did has likely been undone.

Rahim spent 12 days traveling to remote villages in a rented helicopter delivering supplies and providing medical attention.

“Last night I sent information, now we’re moving to Phase 2. We were getting sketches of the temporary shelters,” said Rahim. “We’re back to square one.”

Now he said victims of the latest earthquake will need new supplies.

He’s raising money (you can donate here) and plans to return to Nepal in six weeks.

Right now his thoughts are with the Nepalese people.

“I think their morale and their spirit is really crushed ’cause they’re hoping to get out of it and they tried very hard, but when they see something else of this magnitude come back…,” said Rahim.

Once Rahim has raised $500,000, he said an organization called Rotary International has promised to double that amount.

He’s asking people to contact their elected leaders and ask that the U.S. provide more aid to Nepal.