Snow blankets Nepal villages at center of last year's quake

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Officials say villages near the epicenter of a massive earthquake last year have been blanketed with snow, making life miserable for people still living in temporary shelters and huts.

Government administrator Dipendra Poudel said Wednesday that snow as deep as 60 centimeters (2 feet) had covered villages in northern Gorkha district, making it impossible for helicopters to reach these areas.

Poudel says many people were still living in tents in the areas, and that it will take days on foot to reach the villages because they do not have road access.

The epicenter of the April 25, 2015, earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people was in Gorkha district located 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Kathmandu.