( CNN ) It started with neighbors and local officials digging with their hands through the rubble . As soon as a deadly earthquake stopped rattling a swath of Nepal , before the scope of the damage was calculated , the digging began . The magnitude-7.8 earthquake has killed more than 1,800 people , and the death toll is expected to rise . One witness , Joe McEnness , captured a photo of police officers in Kathmandu , the Nepalese capital , trying to dig survivors out of a collapsed building . The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said its volunteers and staff were aiding rescue efforts and providing first aid to the injured . The Red Cross opened a blood bank in Kathmandu . Reports from Nepal indicated that hospitals were overflowing with patients and suffering from shortages . One doctor in the outskirts of Kathmandu put out a plea for engineers to come to his hospital to help back up the electricity supply . `` Victims will be dying if we do n't have it , '' Dr. Subhash Acharya tweeted . At another hospital , CNN 's Manesh Shrestha saw people being turned away as doctors focused on the most dire needs , he said . He saw people lying outside with broken bones and head injuries . With communication limited , many turned to social media to ask for help locating their loved ones . Google India launched a person finder website to work as a clearinghouse for information on those who are missing and those who have been found . As of Saturday night in Nepal , Google was tracking some 1,400 records . Facebook activated Safety Check , which alerts users of any friends who are in the disaster zone . Those in the affected area can use Facebook to alert their family and friends that they are OK . The U.S. government is providing $ 1 million in immediate assistance , the U.S. Embassy in Nepal said . American disaster response teams are also on their way to the country , the Embassy said via Twitter . Nepal 's neighbor India deployed teams to Kathmandu almost immediately . Within hours of the quake , India had sent almost 300 personnel , along with search dogs and supplies . The equipment arrived in Nepal via a series of cargo and airlift planes , including a C-130 Super Hercules , one IL-76 , and two C-17 Globemasters , according to India 's Ministry of Defense . Two additional helicopters were deployed from India but turned back because of bad weather , the ministry said . India said Sunday that it would dispatch 10 more aid flights to Nepal , along with 10 helicopters to assist in search-and-rescue efforts . Disaster management and medical personnel as well as mobile hospitals , food , water , blankets and medicine will be on the aid flights , Ministry of Defense spokesman Sitanshu Kar said . Pakistan announced it is sending a medical team , a 30-bed hospital and search-and-rescue experts . The Pakistani search team is specialized for rescues in natural disasters , officials said , and comes equipped with ground-penetrating radar and concrete cutters . Pakistan is sending meals , water , medicine and other supplies . China , meanwhile , announced that it will send 40 rescuers and six search dogs . Israel 's military was preparing to send a team to assess the damage from the quake ahead of a humanitarian mission , the Israel Defense Forces said . Hikers around Mount Everest run for lives , treat injured . CNN 's Kunal Sehgal contributed to this report .
More than 1,800 deaths reported after the earthquake . Rescue methods range from digging by helicopter to military deployments .