Kathmandu, May 7 -- In Balkhu, Mandira crouches in the rubble. Just two days ago, her home stood here. Now, she searches for clothing for her 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. They, like many families, did not have time to take everything from their home before the bulldozers arrived on Friday.

She pulls a blue sweatshirt out from under a slab of concrete. The fabric is torn at the sleeve, caked in a thick coat of dust, but she folds it anyway and places it into the plastic bag at her feet. Next is a pair of pants, splayed out a few feet away. She stretches them in front of her, trying to rub off the dust, scrubbing at the hem with cracked, calloused fingers.

Her wrist is fractured. She injured it while rushing to collect ever...