The quake was centred in the country's mountainous north, which is why the true scale of Nepal's suffering is yet to emerge. This region contains eight of the world's 10 tallest peaks, and as such is a magnet for mountaineers and trekkers. However, the road network is primitive and patchy – indeed the only reliable means of access is by aircraft. With roads now impassable, and airline operators refusing to fly because of the risk of aftershocks, search and rescue efforts have yet to begin in earnest. Scores of climbers and Sherpas have been killed in and around base camp at Mount Everest, not as a result of the earthquake itself, but by the resulting landslides and avalanches.

The damage and loss of life in Kathmandu, the country's capital, has been severe, with homes, commercial buildings and important temples damaged or destroyed. Immediately after the quake, the city was pelted with heavy rain, adding to the misery of those whose homes had been destroyed and were without shelter and those who had elected to stay outdoors because they feared that aftershocks might trigger further building collapses.

With Nepal straddling a major tectonic fault line and subject to constant though minor tremors, seismologists had long held fears that a major quake was imminent, and that it might rival the 1934 Nepal-Bihar disaster. This was an 8.2 magnitude earthquake which killed 12,000 Nepalese, the equivalent of one-sixth of the country's population. The country's population has exploded since then, and now sits at about 27 million people. A bigger population has not brought prosperity with it, or indeed political stability, however. A monarchy until 2006, Nepal has endured all the usual political afflictions that go hand in hand with having a multitude of ethnic groups, languages and distinct geographical regions, including short-lived or interim governments and multiple constitutions. The country's politicians also had to contend with a Maoist insurgency which is still ongoing in a desultory fashion.

For a country so rich in mountain scenery, Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with about one in four people living below the poverty line. For that reason many fit and able-bodied Nepalese men live and work abroad. Their remittances form an integral part of the country's economy, along with tourism. But the absence of so many young men has hampered search and rescue efforts, and it bodes ills for the rebuilding of the country's infrastructure.

These are all sound reasons for the international community to expedite their offers of material assistance and expertise in medical care and search and rescue techniques. Food, medical supplies and survival gear, as well as the aircraft to ferry these to remote villages, are already in Nepal, or on their way. The Abbott government has offered $5 million in aid which, given the numbers of Australians who travel to the country each year, is an offer that probably ought to be significantly improved.

The end of relief and rescue efforts will mark just the first stage of Nepal's long road to recovery. Communications, roads and other vital infrastructure will need to be repaired, and the country's culturally significant temples replaced. With the flow of foreign tourists already drying up, Nepal's ability to fund these crucial repairs will be very much dependent on the generosity of wealthy countries such as Australia.

As the Sherpas and Gurkhas have frequently demonstrated, the Nepalese are a tough and resilient people. Indeed, in the service of the British Army, the Gurkhas were renowned for the their bravery and self-sufficiency. But the scale of this disaster is of such magnitude that only a major humanitarian relief effort will suffice.