WINNIPEG — More Winnipeggers are hearing from their loved ones in Nepal following the devastating earthquake on the weekend.
READ MORE: Manitoba’s Nepalese community waiting for word from disaster zone
Nathan Rieger, a pastor at Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, was in a church in Kathmandu just as the earthquake started.
“The ground started to shake and then the wall,” said Andy Wood, a fellow pastor at Winnipeg Centre Vineyard who has spoken to Rieger since the quake.
READ MORE: How Canadians can help the victims of the Nepal earthquake
Rieger is safe and is now visiting people who have lost their homes to provide aid and a person to talk to.
Vineyard has close ties to Nepal and the earthquake has hit close to home for all those with the church, which is collecting donations to help people in Nepal. For more information, visit www.winnipegcentrevineyard.com.
Karilyn Van Styvendale was in Labouche, Nepal, hiking around Everest, when the 7.8 earthquake hit, killing at least 4,000 people.
READ MORE: Rescuers struggle to reach many in Nepal quake, fear worst
“It was a horrible feeling, not only me but everyone she knows,” said Joanne Johnson, Karilyn’s mom. “The normal reaction was terror.”
The feeling changed to relief shortly after.
“When we heard from her, we were jumping for joy, but we knew that she will still be having a lot of trouble there and it won’t be over until she is home and safe.”
WATCH: Dramatic video shows Mount Everest avalanche following Nepal earthquake
Van Styvendale had planned to stay overseas until the middle of August, her mother said.
“We are hoping to get a message to her to rest up and be well for awhile, and replan her trip,” Johnson said.
READ MORE: Two Manitoba climbers were on Everest when avalanche hit
Comments