Nepal earthquake: Kitchener's Matt Hummel waits for way out
Kitchener resident Matt Hummel was on a trek up to Everest base camp in Nepal on Saturday when the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck.
"We got all the way up to Lobuche, which is one village short of the base camp," said Hummel, 25, who was travelling with his friend Ryan Laverdiere, also 25, and a guide. Hummel said they got to the village around 11 a.m. on Saturday, hours ahead of schedule, and wanted to keep going. But the guide insisted they take a break.
"We were sitting there having lunch and I mean, there's really no words to describe what it actually felt like," said Hummel. "Initially everyone thought it was an avalanche or a rockslide so everyone ran outside, and as you ran outside the ground was continuously shaking and all of sudden the buildings started collapsing around you."
I jumped out of bed, I grabbed Ryan, we were screaming, trying to run downstairs.- Matt Hummel, Kitchener man travelling in Nepal
Hummel said once the shaking stopped, he and his group returned inside to continue eating lunch, and it wasn't until an hour or so later that word of the widespread devastation the quake had caused started reaching people in Lobuche.
The earthquake that shook Nepal Saturday is believed to have killed over 5,000 people, injured 6,500, toppled homes, buildings and triggered avalanches in the Himalayas.
He said that three of the hostels in the village were partially collapsed, and aftershocks continued.
Hummel was initially reported missing, but has since been in touch with his family back home. He said that he and Laverdiere didn't realize the extent of the damage at first, until their guide told them that an earthquake of that size was rare for the region. The pair spend money on WiFi access to send Hummel's mother a message and saying they were ok.
Hummel said that he and Laverdiere wore shoes and hats to bed that night.
"Before we went to bed we both looked at each other and said, 'You know, what are our options here?' Because we were on the second floor, you run out the door and down the stairs, or we looked out the window and we said 'It's a two-storey jump, probably break an ankle or a leg but at least the building's not going to collapse on us,'" said Hummel.
There was an aftershock later that night.
"So when 11:30 hit and that happened, I jumped out of bed, I grabbed Ryan, we were screaming, trying to run downstairs, and all of sudden it was over, but I mean there are no words to describe it," said Hummel.
Now, Hummel is stuck in Lukla, the town with the closest airport to Everest, as he tries to get a flight home. He says the town is in good condition.
"The only problem here is because of where it's located up in the mountain, unless it's perfect weather, you can't get planes here," said Hummel. "So we were supposed to take off back to Kathmandu this morning, and some cloud rolled in, so we actually our flight was delayed."
Hummel is hoping to get out on Thursday. But he says he's apprehensive of heading to Kathmandu, because the damage is so severe compared to Lukla.
"Lukla is very stable and in great condition," he said.