Five years after Nepal's quake, lockdown stops reconstruction

A deserted view of "Rani Pokhari" (Queen's Pond), damaged during the 2015 earthquake, as the reconstruction works are halted due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kathmandu, Nepal April 25, 2020. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - The coronavirus epidemic has not only put Nepal's people and economy in lockdown for a month, but also stopped the slow and desperately needed reconstruction of homes and other buildings devastated by two huge earthquakes in 2015.

A magnitude 7.8 quake hit Nepal on April 25 of that year and was followed by another of magnitude 7.3 less than three weeks later. Whole towns, centuries-old temples and other historic sites were reduced to rubble.