Nepal earthquake: What's ahead for LA County FD's task force

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Podcasts Take Two

Apr 29, 2015

Listen • 6:09

Nepal earthquake: What's ahead for LA County FD's task force

Derek Chapman, one of LA County Fire's 57 USAR team members sent to Nepal, describes the scene from the ground, just hours after arriving in Kathmandu.

KATHMANDU, NEPAL - APRIL 25 : Local people help with rescue work at the site of a building that collapsed after an earthquake in Kathmandu, April 25, 2015. Hundreds of people have been killed in Nepal after the Himalayan nation was hit by a powerful earthquake Saturday. At least 970 people have been killed in different parts of the country according to figures released by the Nepali Police. (Photo by Sunil Pradhan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Derek Chapman, one of LA County Fire's 57 USAR team members sent to Nepal, describes the scene from the ground, just hours after arriving in Kathmandu.

The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal has reached more than 5,000.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department sprung into action not long after the earthquake struck, deploying 57 members of the Urban Search and Rescue Team to Nepal. The team is part of the USAID's nearly 130-member Disaster Assistance Relief Team.

Derek Chapman, operations coordinator for L.A. County Fire's USAR Team, is part of that group. He joined Take Two to describe the scene in Kathmandu, and talk about the challenges that lie ahead.