The Air Force is flying in 40 flights a day with food and medical supplies. There is a lack of firewood for cremations but more is being brought into the area. Many small funeral pyres burn throughout the area. Contaminated water is being blamed for an increase in diarrhea but there have not been any major outbreaks of disease. There is still danger of the spread of cholera or malaria due to poor living conditions for survivors.
Respiratory illness is common due to people having to live outside in cold weather.
Many villages did not receive help until a week after the quake. Efforts have so far been concentrated in the cities but the Prime Minister has now called for more help for the countryside as well. The government has come in for strong criticism in the hardest hit areas for not asking for international aid sooner and for not getting help to outlying areas for days after the quake. Desparate people have clashed with police over distribution of food. This quake was casued by the movement of the Indian Plate as it moves northward into the Eurasian Plate.