The magnitude 7.8 (M7.8) earthquake hit the Himalayan country, late on Saturday morning, striking just 80 kilometres north-west of the nation’s capital, Kathmandu.

Mr Gc first heard of the quake when his mother and sister called him from his hometown of Butwal, some 260 kilometres from Kathmandu, where they had felt the shaking.

At first, he didn’t believe them. Then he turned on the news.

“Everything was finished, just in one go,” he said.

“Since I saw that news, I don’t like eating.”

The earthquake has caused widespread destruction across central Nepal and the Kathmandu valley, leveling buildings and leaving an estimated eight million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

On Tuesday afternoon, the death toll had risen to more than 4500, but with thousands thought to be still trapped beneath the rubble, authorities have said the number is sure to rise.

The rescue effort has been hindered by the aftershocks, some almost as powerful as the earthquake itself. On Sunday afternoon, was shaken by a M6.7.

“It was too big,” Mr Gc said. “When you see the news you don’t feel like eating anything.”

“Nothing is there, nothing is left, and then [Sunday] night it rain. They were on the ground and it rained, and the hospital is full and they have to do all the medical treatment outside on the ground, with the tent.”

The Australian federal government has so far pledged $5 million in assistance, and Mr Gc said Nepal needed the world’s help.

“It’s good. Nepal is not, it’s not that strong and not that rich,” he said.

“It’s just under-developed, that’s bad. All the countries, they need to help.”