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Nepal Earthquake Death Toll; Worst Earthquake In 80 Years; Surgery In Nepal; Thousands In Need; Impact Your World; Everest Avalanche Survivor; Quake Triggers Deadly Avalanche; Nepal Aid Aired 1-2p ET.

Aired April 27, 2015 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 10:45 p.m. in Kathmandu, Nepal. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with the desperate search for survivors in the race against time in Nepal. The death toll from the country's worst earthquake in 80 years has now climbed past 3,900. But even in the middle of the death and devastation, there are signs of hope. A little boy is found in the rubble covered in dust but alive, however the chance of finding and rescuing more survivors is quickly fading as the hours pass.

New drone video gives us an aerial view of the destruction, buildings reduced to rubble, a huge crack in a major road. And new surveillance video shows people inside a restaurant as the earthquake hit on Saturday. You see them thrown from side to side as they scramble to get out of the building. At least 16 countries as well as the European Union and several international aid agencies, they are sending assistance to Nepal. The United States dispatched a search and rescue team from Fairfax County in Virginia.

The epicenter of the 7.8 quake was less than 50 miles northwest of Nepal's capital of Kathmandu. Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us now live from Kathmandu. He's just back from a tent city where reporters have not been before. Sanjay, this is devastating. Thank you so much for being there. Tell us what you've seen?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, we were inside one of the busiest hospitals today in the city center. It's called Behir (ph) Hospital. And it's a hospital that typically takes care of some of the most urgent trauma cases in the city. And even for them, I would tell you, if this is a situation that they had not encountered before, even though they take care of a lot of trauma patients, they -- yesterday or two days ago now, right immediately after the earthquake, they were quite busy as expected. There was a little bit of a lull afterwards, they told me. But then, what happened is that that was probably during the time that the rescue missions were taking place and they basically got a deluge of patients again today that was quite remarkable.

Even while we were there, just a few minutes after we arrived, we saw ambulances coming in, taxis, people walking in, being carried in. It was quite extraordinary, Wolf. And most of the injuries, crush injuries, brain injuries, spine injuries, all really from the rubble. People in their homes, literally having their homes fall all around them and causing these types of injuries.

And, keep in mind, Wolf, today, the patients that came in were, you know, one to two days out from the earthquake itself so they had been not receiving care during that time. So, they were quite sick by the time they arrived -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And I know, Sanjay, you may be a world-class journalist, and you certainly are, but you're also a world-class neurosurgeon. And as often happens in these kinds of stories, you were called upon to use that medical degree, your experience, and save people's lives. Tell us what happened?

GUPTA: Well, Wolf, you know, it's a situation where immediately in the wake of a natural disaster, these demands for care outpace the supply of care, in terms of resources, but also sometimes in terms of personnel. And, Wolf, they need another set of hands, basically. They asked me if I would perform this operation because, you know, they're just very, very busy. They do have doctors, very good doctors here in Nepal. But when you have this many patients that all arrive at the same time, it can be very busy.

They -- in this particular hospital, they literally have not stopped operating almost since this earthquake. Just as soon as one patient is finished, they -- another patient goes in. The situation is challenging because they don't have all the resources they need. But this little girl, the eight-year-old girl, her name is Salina, she was in a more remote area, quite some distance away from the capital city. My understanding is that she was actually outside her home at the time the earthquake struck. And her home fell. It crumbled to the ground, and she sustained a brain injury as a result of that. She was brought to the hospital by friends and family.

At the time she arrived, this little -- poor little eight-year-old girl, she didn't even know where her parents were. She didn't know if her parents were alive. She needed an operation. And the -- we did that operation. And I'm happy to report, she's doing well and her parents' whereabouts have been established as well. They were actually caring for another sibling who had fractured both of his legs during the earthquake.

So, you know, it's just -- it's just a chaotic situation. You know, I'm very happy for this little girl but there are so many patients that sort of fit this type of pattern, Wolf, where they come from quite a distance. The injuries are pretty significant and sometimes they don't even know how to get ahold of their families.

[13:05:09] BLITZER: Yes, well, thank you so much for saving that little girl's life maybe. And without your expertise, maybe she wouldn't be OK right now.

Sanjay, I know you've got to run, but very quickly, do they have the medicine? Do they have the equipment? Do they have the doctors on hand or -- people are watching us from around the world. Should more people be coming in, doctors, physicians, nurses, others, to help?

GUPTA: I think there does seem to be a shortage of some of these things, in terms of personnel, doctors and nurses, also in terms of some of the resources from basic supplies to things like antibiotics, pain medications. I think there's also an infrastructure issue, Wolf. I mean, you know, the hospital that we were at today did have generator power but much of that generator power is gasoline. So, they're being very judicious about the use of the gasoline.

And they also are trying to -- you know, today when we were doing the operation, they did not want to use power tools, for example, which might zap up a lot of energy. So, we're more rudimentary tools for the operation so there's an infrastructure issue. You know what I would say, Wolf, and you've covered these stories for many years as well, is that, right now, there's obviously a need. I would remind people that a few weeks from now, a few months from now, there will still be a need. So, you know, just don't forget that part of it. You know, even though, you know, you may not be thinking about it as much a few weeks or a few months from now, if you're willing to donate your time or energy, that would be a time to do it as well.

BLITZER: Yes, good advice. Sanjay, thanks so much for what you're doing. We will stay in close touch with you. Sanjay's not only reporting the news but he's saving lives, as he often does in these kinds of disaster stories. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we're certainly proud he's a key member of our CNN global team.

As the search for survivors continues, the world is now stepping in to try to help. They're rushing in urgently needed aid. More than a dozen countries are pitching in. The United States is providing a total of $10 million in aid, at least so far, sending in that Virginia task force as one. That's a team trained for urban search and rescue operations, made up of about 57 searchers, six dogs as well.

Israel is sending a medical contingent that includes 122 doctors, nurses and paramedics. Pakistan is sending an entire 30-bed hospital. And the World Health Organization is deploying emergency aid kits of medicine and supplies. This is meant to cover the needs of 80,000 people for as long as three months.

With all this aid starting to flow into the country, how will it be effectively deployed? Joining us now is Matt Darvas from the aid group, World Vision. He's joining us from Guarico (ph), one of the towns near the epicenter of the earthquake. How hard hit is that area, Matt? What are you seeing there?

MATT DARVAS, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, WORLD VISION: Yes, Wolf. I cannot stress enough that this is simply an area that is not getting the attention it deserves. In the villages surrounding here, we're hearing of villages of 750 people, villages of 1,000 people, where entire villages have been wiped off the face of mountains. Helicopters are trying to get to these areas, but they are not the right helicopters. They do not have the right equipment, and they are unable to land and rescue people. So, we are seeing incredibly difficult circumstances here. I spoke to one man, Wolf. He had come to where I am a day before the earthquake. After the earthquake struck, he called his wife and she said she was terrified. 70 percent of the buildings in their village had collapsed. Their family only just escaped. He lost contact with that village and his wife at 10:00 p.m. after the earthquake. No one has had contact with them since. They said there was 60 to 80 people, mainly children and the elderly, buried under rubble. Two helicopters have tried to reach that village and none have been successful. This is indicative of what is happening in villages all around me where I am right now in Guarico.

BLITZER: So, basically, it's -- what you're saying is it's very difficult to reach the areas, the epicenter, if you will, outside of Kathmandu, and the need is desperate. Is that what I'm hearing?

DARVAS: Absolutely. (INAUDIBLE) here is that the stories from Guarico are not getting out. As far as I can tell, I'm one of the only people here speaking to international media. The locals are extremely concerned. Like I said, this is two days on and no one has reached these people in the villages where the people are buried. And we're talking entire villages of people that could be gone or severely injured, unreached.

BLITZER: Are you seeing any international assistance, any search and rescue operations, medical personnel coming in that area? So far none?

DARVAS: World vision is deploying to this area. We'll have emergency supplies in the forms of tents and tarpholans (ph), things like water purification tablets and sanitation kits to set up shelter.

[13:10:00] There was also relief arriving from the World Food program and Save the Children that I saw in the late hours of the day. But, like I said, at the moment, the issue is getting it to these cutoff villages that cannot be reached. We have aid here, but we didn't get it to them. We have to get the right helicopters out to these remote areas before it's too late. My fear is it will already be too late for many people here.

BLITZER: Well, as you -- is your fear, Matt, that there are people trapped in the rubble and that no one is removing that rubble to try to save them. And if no one does, they could die? Is that the major fear right now?

DARVAS: That's correct. In that man's village I was speaking to, he told me there was two confirmed deaths. And, like I said, 60 to 80 people buried under their houses that people could not get to. No one has had contact with them since 10:00 p.m. No helicopter can land there. I have no idea what is happening up there. Their food supplies were also crushed under their homes. They saw grain and corn in their -- in their homes. When he spoke to his wife and his children at 6:00 p.m. after the earthquake, they were already complaining of being hungry.

BLITZER: All right, Matt, we're going to stay in close touch with you. Thanks so much for what you and your team are doing. I know the need is enormous right now. Matt Darvas from World Vision. Amazing destruction that's going on and the world is crying out. Right now, the people in Nepal are crying out for help. To find out what you can do to helps these victims of the Nepal earthquake, go to CNN.com, slash, impact, CNN.com, slash, impact. You, literally, will be able to impact your world.

Up next, much more on the breaking story, the earthquake triggering a deadly wave of snow and ice on the world's highest mountain. We're going to talk with a climber who actually survived the avalanche on Mt. Everest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:09]

BLITZER: It started with a rumble, then a massive wave of snow and ice in the Nepal earthquake triggered a deadly avalanche on Mt. Everest. Watch this terrifying 40 seconds as climbers on worlds tallest mountain become engulfed in the cloud of snow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move! Move! Go! (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Go! (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Come under my jacket. Come under my jacket. Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What a terrifying 40 seconds we just saw. One climber, Nick Talbot, survived that avalanche. He was on a quest to become the first person with cystic fibrosis to climb Mt. Everest. He's joining us on the phone from Kathmandu right now.

Nick, take us back to that moment when you first knew something had gone horribly wrong. Describe what happened?

NICK TALBOT, SURVIVED MOUNT EVEREST AVALANCHE (via telephone): I was in my tent in base camp relaxing. It was one of our rest days. And I felt the earth start to move underneath me. I've been in earthquakes before, so I knew what it was. Then there's a massive crack and I knew something that was way more wrong than normal.

I stuck my head outside of the tent and I saw what I could only describe as a tsunami of rock, ice, snow, coming towards me and it was - it was extremely high and it was coming extremely fast. And normally in base camp you're safe from avalanches and because they just die at the bottom of the mountain, but the earthquake triggered - it must have just basically shaken all of the ice and rock off the mountain. And I ran as fast as I could to try and get some shelter from it, knowing that it would outpace me at some point, and then it - it smashed into me and smashed me to the ground and to rock, ice, and it was a suffocating experience too as the snow starts to fill your lungs and you, you know, you struggle up and on and hope that at some point it comes to an end.

BLITZER: How badly were you injured, Nick?

TALBOT: I had a couple of head wounds. I've got cuts and, you know, bruises all over me. I've got ribs which were either broken or cracked, which means that breathing or moving is - can be quite painful at times. But, you know, injured enough that I was among the evacuees, thankfully, but I feel extremely thankful that I managed to survive, you know, what I thought could be a life-ending experience at the time.

BLITZER: We understand at least 17 people were killed in that avalanche, including some members of your own group, is that right?

TALBOT: Yes. One - one member of my team was, unfortunately, killed. It's a lottery as to what happens when something like that hits you. And, unfortunately, he was - he was extremely unlucky and died almost instantaneously.

BLITZER: Well, Nick Talbot, good luck to you. At least you survived, obviously, we're happy about that. Our condolences on your colleague, your friend there. We'll stay in close touch with you. Thankfully you're OK, relatively speaking.

Up next, much more on the breaking story we're following. I'll speak with a former U.S. ambassador to Nepal who predicted that a disaster was looming. I'll get his take on the tragedy, whether Nepal's government can cope. Stay with us. Much more on this story when we come back.

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[13:22:38] BLITZER: Let's get back to our top story, the deadly earthquake that has claimed more than 3,900 lives so far. And as Nepal tries to dig out from the earthquake, governments and organizations around the world are pledging support and supplies. And now we're learning the possible cost of Nepal's disaster, at least $5 billion. But that number could go up dramatically.

Joining us now from Honolulu is James Moriarty. He was the former U.S. ambassador - he is the former U.S. ambassador to Nepal. He served there from 2004 to 2007. Also was the senior director for Asia for the National Security Council over at the White House. He's a private - in the private sector right now working on business development in the region.

Ambassador, first of all, I assume you've been in touch with friends, colleagues in Nepal. What are you hearing about the rescue operation?

JAMES MORIARTY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NEPAL: Well, you know, in Kathmandu, most of my friends have survived just fine, except they're almost all out in the open areas. There are reports that aid is getting out very slowly and that is only to be expected. The country is so rugged, the roads are largely broken, that it's going to be extremely difficult getting aid into the areas outside of Kathmandu that really need it.

BLITZER: Let me play something for you. Valerie Amos is the United Nations undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs. She spoke with our Christiane Amanpour about the challenges of getting to those desperate areas, those in desperate need right now. Listen to - listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE AMOS, U.N. UNDERSECRETARY GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: The difficulty is that Nepal is a very mountainous country, so getting to those outlying areas remains really, really difficult. So there is a need for helicopters to get there. There is only one runway at the airport, so you can imagine trying to have commercial traffic and aid flights coming in is putting a huge pressure on already limited resources. And this is the difficulty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You spent years there. I assume you agree that Nepal's government certainly is not equipped to handle this type of emergency, is that right?

MORIARTY: Yes, Wolf, this is a very, very poor country with very few resources, either natural or human. I mean the salaries are so low, the economic communities so slight, that talented people, a lot of them leave the country. So, yes, there's a lack of the people that would be needed on the ground to handle this. The military is competent, but they're small. And again, the magnitude of this disaster is so huge that I - I assume they're overwhelmed too.

[13:25:18] BLITZER: So the international community must rally and get there and help to save lives. Obviously that clock is ticking.

I understand also, ambassador, back in 2005, when you served there, you warned about the devastation that an earthquake would likely cause in Nepal. Is this what you anticipated, what you expected?

MORIARTY: Well, to be honest, this is by no means the worst case scenario. I mean, back then, we were looking at a really bad quake, perhaps killing scores of thousands in the Kathmandu valley itself. So, in a way, things are not quite as bad as we had feared. That being said, those logistical constraints that the lady was just talking about are only all too real. I mean the - and the Kathmandu runway is very short. You know, you can't land the biggest planes there. So you've got all sorts of logistical issues and, as I said, the question of, do you have the people to administer a large aid effort?

BLITZER: The remote areas - we just heard from one aid worker, saying that this is much closer to the epicenter of the earthquake, that there's really very few people from the outside who have gotten in to help at all and that's where there could be huge numbers of casualty death and injuries. The problem is, people don't even know, because no one can get close to that area. You know that area. You traveled all over the country. Tell us about it.

MORIARTY: It's extremely rugged. And what you get in Nepal is scattered settlement. So any place where you have a little bit of land, even if it's at a 20 degree angle, you have a farmer farming that land, which means that many huts, many villages are three to four days walk away from anything that resembles a road. So, yes, it's - it's an incredible logistical nightmare out there.

BLITZER: Because the fear is that 4,000 number - they're approaching 4,000 deaths and obviously many more thousands, people injured, those numbers could skyrocket once you get to some of those other areas. They haven't even had a chance, apparently, to inspect some of those areas. And that - one final question, ambassador, before I let you go. That monsoon season, I take it, is coming there. What's going to be the impact of that in this search and recovery, the rescue operation, the humanitarian mission that is so desperately need?

MORIARTY: Well, you probably have five to six weeks before the monsoons really set in. So they're in a race against time because what will happen is, the roads that do exist will become largely impassable. But, of course, the big question is the human suffering on the ground. If you do have large numbers of people camping out, either under a tarp or maybe under some sort of temporary shelter they put together, they're going to be very vulnerable to disease. And, of course, the other question is, is the food flowing into these areas by then. So, yes, the - it's a race against time against the monsoon.

BLITZER: Yes, this is a real disaster, obviously. James Moriarty was the United States ambassador to Nepal. Mr. Ambassador, thanks very much for joining us.

We're going to stay on top of the breaking news coverage. Up next, much more. We'll have some of the devastating stories that are emerging now behind the pictures. You're seeing here on CNN, families, they're digging through the rubble, they're desperate for any sign of hope.

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