KIND-hearted residents in Southampton have donated nearly £400,000 to the Nepal Earthquake Appeal since a devastating earthquake ripped apart the country.

People from across the city have given £397,700 to an appeal set up by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to help the eight million people affected by last Saturday's earthquake in the poverty-stricken country.

The DEC said it was humbled by the scale of the UK public's response to such an unprecedented crisis, which has devastated communities across the Asian country.

Fire fighters from Hampshire are returning to the UK after helping those trapped in the rubble after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck the west of the capital Kathmandu last Saturday.

The shocks brought down building and monuments across the city and caused avalanches across the Himalayan mountain range which make up a large part of the country.

Daily Echo:

A total of £41 million has been raised for the DEC, which is made up of 13 leading UK aid charities, since the appeal launched on Tuesday of last week.

Southampton lies 14th in a list of top-20 cities in the UK who have pledged to support those living in the country.

These funds have enabled aid charities to reach tens of thousands of people with emergency supplies, including food, shelter, water and sanitation kits.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said: “The people of Southampton have been incredibly generous and I want to thank each and every person who has donated for their kind support.

“Thanks to the substantial contributions from cities such as Southampton, our teams have been able to reach a large number of people in just a few days, but there is still so much more to do.

“Nearly two weeks on and the response by the UK public continues to amaze me. This money will help us to scale up efforts to reach more of the estimated eight million people affected by the devastating earthquake.

“Hundreds of thousands of people, many in remote villages, have had their homes damaged or destroyed and are in urgent need of food, water, shelter and medical care.

“Most are sleeping in the open or in make shift camps, with rain and limited accessibility of many locations making aid deliveries challenging.

“The funds donated by people in Southampton and the rest of the nation will allow us to increase the humanitarian response: despite immense challenges, aid is getting through to more and more people who desperately need it.”

  • To make a donation to the DEC Nepal Earthquake Appeal visit dec.org.uk, or call 0370 60 60 900. You can also donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.