‘Entire villages have been completely leveled’: Halifax man describes devastation in Nepal after quake

HALIFAX – A Halifax man in Nepal said he feels like he’s in a dream after a powerful earthquake struck the country Saturday.

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RELATED: At least 388 Canadian registered in earthquake devastated Nepal: officials

Mitchell Pineo is a DJ and is in Nepal in tour. He had just played a show in Kathmandu Friday night and was having lunch outside the city when the quake struck.

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“We felt this really low rumble. It was absolutely terrifying,” he said.

“We jumped up and everything around us starting shaking. People started screaming and running into the street.”

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RELATED: In photos: Powerful images from the Nepal earthquake

“We followed suit and ran. We tried to stay away from anything that could potentially collapse,” he said.

READ MORE: Experts knew cataclysmic earthquake was coming to Nepal soon

Pineo describes a solemn scene.

“Entire villages have been completely leveled. Buildings are not really well supported. There are just rows and rows of them completely flat.”

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He describes the shaking as “intense” and said there were aftershocks for an hour afterward, adding many people are still on edge.

As he and his friends made their way back into Kathmandu, he said the destruction and rubble got dramatically worse.

“The military was setting up all sorts of different camps in the parks for the casualties. We saw lots of excavators and soldiers trying to dig people up. Their families surrounding them. The families crying out in agony when they pulled their loved one from the wreckage. It was difficult to see.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The military was setting up all sorts of different camps in the parks for the casualties. We saw lots of excavators and soldiers trying to dig people up. Their families surrounding them. The families crying out in agony when they pulled their loved one from the wreckage. It was difficult to see."

Pineo said he has not slept since Friday and is spending the night outside the city away from tall buildings.

The trip to Nepal is supposed to last for another two weeks. Pineo said that while his family would like him to come home, he plans to remain in Nepal and hopes to help where he can.

“I definitely want to stick around and see if we can help out and see what else is going to happen here,” he said.

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This is the first trip Pineo has taken outside of Canada.

READ MORE: How you can help the victims of the Nepal earthquake