Pictures of the devastation caused by the recent earthquake.

The costs of rebuilding Nepal after its worst earthquake in the last eighty years is going to exceed $10 billion and it will take years to repair all the damages, said Ram S. Mahat the finance minister of Nepal. At the moment the government is trying to recover people who are possibly still trapped under the rubble. It has been more than 72 hours since the 7.8 magnitude hit the Himalayan nation and the country is still struggling with the aftermath of the quake. The death toll has already surpassed the number of 4,300 people and it is possible that it could reach over 6,000, said Mahat during an interview on Thursday.

“We have indications that there are still many survivors under the rubble but we do not have adequate equipment for the current situation,” said Mahat during a conversation in his office in Kathmandu. “Even in Kathmandu valley there are huge buildings that have collapsed and we are unable to get to them due to the lack of technology assets.”

Mahat’s reconstruction costs estimate is equal to more than half of Nepal’s $20 billion economy, which is smaller than any of the 50 U.S. states. The government of Nepal is planning to appeal to the world for its desperately needed help as soon as the rescue effort ends, said Mahat, adding that an exact figure is difficult to estimate at this moment. “The cost is uncertain. it will take billions and billions of dollars worth of restoration and reconstruction of the infrastructure,” Mahat stated. Because of the mountainous geography of the country, the infrastructure damages and the damaged roads and collapsed bridges, the access towards many of the critical areas is very limited, stated the United Nations in its official statement. Residents of Kathmandu are becoming restless as they wait for water, food, medicine and electricity.

The country is trying to function under very serious constraints and the airport at Kathmandu has a restricted limit. If the roads are able to function once again then more relief can go in larger vehicles with heavy equipment that could reach critical areas. According to an estimate by Nepal’s central bank, Kathamndu and its valley around it is the center of a third of the nation’s economy. Other major powers are tourism, agriculture and remittances which may suffer severely after at least 18 people have died at the base camp of Mount Everest.