As the death toll continues to rise in Nepal following this weekend's earthquake, Nova Scotians, both in the devastated country and here at home, are trying to support the relief effort.

Simon Carriere, who is from Lower Sackville, was about 100 kilometres from the epicentre in a newer area where many of the buildings remain intact.

He says he and a group of about 10 people are gathering tents, mattresses, rice and other food and are preparing to head in two Jeeps to areas that were hit hard.

"In the villages, actually not much help is being done there right now," he said. "The military is apparently not there yet, neither are police."

Meanwhile, Rupesh Dhungana, who lived in Nepal for 17 years as a refugee before coming to Nova Scotia, is still trying to contact friends in the country. Like so many in Canada, he is watching the aftermath on television and the internet.

"Those pictures reflect all the chaos situation in Nepal, the cry of people and the pain of Nepal," he told CBC's Information Morning.

Dhungana is part of a local group called Druk Atlantic Youth Society, which is beginning to raise money for UNICEF.

He and his family fled Bhutan when he was an infant and he grew up in Nepal, before arriving in Nova Scotia four years ago. He says Nepal is very poor and he fears for those who live outside of Kathmandu and who are cut off from communication.

"It's very hard to communicate with people and to know what is going on with people. We are focusing mainly in the devastated area right now, but we are not learning or not understanding what is going on with people who are outside the tragic event," said Dhungana.