Locals of devastated Laprak village in Gorkha district, situated near the epicenter of the first earthquake on April 23, have now evacuated their village. Laprak is also known as the heartland of the Gurkhas, who have served the British and Indian armies with distinction and valor. The 7.8 magnitude quake devastated the village, which is some three miles north of Barpak, the epicenter of the first quake. Laprak comprised over 500 households, the majority of them janjatis. Most of the houses have crumbled following the deadly quakes. The quake victims living on terraced hills now fear landslides during the monsoon. So they have started evacuating the village, it is learned. Nine people have so far lost their lives in the earthquakes, while hundreds of sustained injuries.

Around 20 to 30 houses out of a total of 500 remain standing. Only brick and mortar structures seem to have resisted the quake. "But the houses still standing are not safe to live in," said Santa Bahadur Gurung, a local. "We have been camping in tents, and some of us have fallen sick while others have started evacuating the village," he further said. Laprak locals have moved to grounds higher than their original settlement. Over 800 people are living together in the same place. Six days after the earthquake, the affected locals have finally received tents for shelter. "But tents cannot prevent us from shivering in the cold," Gurung added. The situation in neighboring Barpak is similar. However, relief materials distributed in Laprak has been less compared to Barpak. Laprak does not have agriculture. "Because of the disaster, we will go hungry in the absence of tourism income," said a local youth, James Gurung. According to him, the locals will not find work as porters for tourists and hikers. Remote Laprak is still awaiting relief material, which could not reach it due to difficult geography.

Last Tuesday, an Indian Air Force helicopter had flown to Laprak but could not land there. Only small helicopters can land in the area. Laprak is also outside the road network. "Human habitation is no longer possible in devastated Laprak," said Marsingh Gurung, a local. "If the settlement is not shifted, another disaster, this time caused by landslides during the monsoon, is inevitable.