THE ceiling rattled and the ground shook as someone frantically yelled “earthquake”.
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A stampede of people out of the Kathmandu airport building onto the Tarmac came as a second earthquake hit Nepal on May 12.
Among the panicked mob was Yackandandah couple Adrienne and Frank Dyall and now they will share their experiences with the Border.
The couple will offer their story and photographs from that unforgettable trip at St Stephen’s Uniting Church in Woonga on Friday from 7pm.
“When we were standing on the tarmac you could see clouds of dust as buildings were falling,” Mrs Dyall said.
“After about three quarters of an hour a decision was made to board people rather than send them back into the building.”
Mrs Dyall said as a result of the earthquake, the Kathmandu airport was now a metre higher.
But it wasn’t just the one earthquake they endured.
They were staying in a village that was closer to the epicentre than Kathmandu when the first earthquake hit on April 25.
The couple was at the village with Wodonga’s Santa Thapa, Bishnu Chettri, and their three-year-old son Shumvaub and Mrs Dyall said they were told it was the worst earthquake in 80 years.
“There was no damage to the village because the shockwaves went east and we were west,” Mrs Dyall said.
“But the experience is like walking on a water bed.
“The locals were fairly hysterical and there was a lot of fear.”
Mrs Dyall hopes sharing her experiences will help raise money and awareness.
“We want to remind people that we are talking about people’s lives and this will affect them for the next five years,” she said.
“People considering a holiday there should continue to do so because they need to keep the tourism.”
Mrs Dyall said the money raised would go towards supplying locals with medical goods, tents and rice to help them get through a monsoon expected in the next couple of weeks.
Another event supporting those in Nepal held on Friday night raised $14,000 for Meg’s Children, a charity supporting 21 Nepalese children.
It was held at the Mullengandra Hall with 140 people in attendance.