Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) Half a million tents are urgently needed for the huge number of people forced from their homes by Nepal's devastating earthquake , a government minister said Wednesday.

Minendra Rijal, Nepal's minister of information and communications, said relief operations were underway but that much more needs to be done.

"Life is returning to normal, but it will be some time to be completely normal," he said. "We have still not been able to properly manage to provide relief."

Rijal wasn't able to put a precise number on those made homeless by Saturday's devastating quake, but he said the government had so far provided more than 4,700 tents and 22,000 tarpaulins to those in need of shelter.

Aircraft loaded with tents are expected from India and Thailand in the next day, he said, with another 100,000 tents expected from Pakistan.

Two UNICEF flights arrived Wednesday with supplies such as water-purification tablets, family hygiene kits and tents and tarps.

UNICEF Regional Communication Advisor Jean-Jacques Simon said the supplies "are desperately needed by those living in camps, and other areas in Kathmandu, the Kathmandu Valley and in hard-to-reach remote areas, where UNICEF plans to distribute the items as soon as possible."

Map of Nepal earthquake epicenter and aftershock locations

The United Nations has said the quake has affected 8 million people across 39 districts.

Rijal said 21 helicopters, including seven provided by India, were helping in the rescue and relief efforts, with 866 people rescued by air and a little more than 1,000 rescued using land transport.

As rescue workers seek to reach people who desperately need help, the weather is making things worse.

Heavy rain has intensified the hardships for the countless Nepalis who are sleeping out in the open because their homes were destroyed or they don't feel safe inside buildings amid continuing aftershocks.

At Tundhikal Park, known now as Tent City, the crowds are thinning, but it's not necessarily a sign of improvement.

On Wednesday, some had enough of sleeping huddled in a tent and were readying to return to their houses. That's the correct term -- houses; they were no longer homes, no longer places of sanctuary.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Wednesday to express condolences, the White House said. This is the first time Obama has spoken with the Prime Minister since Saturday's first earthquake.

Obama and he talked about disaster response efforts and Obama pledged that the United States "will do all that it can to help the people of Nepal in their time of need," the White House said.

Vital supplies

In the district of Gorkha, where the magnitude-7.8 quake was centered, a large storm rumbled over the mountainous terrain Tuesday afternoon.

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"That essentially shut down helicopter missions for the entire afternoon, except for a small window before sunset," Matt Darvas, an emergency communications officer for the humanitarian group World Vision, told CNN on Wednesday. He's currently in the main town in Gorkha.

But signs of improvement can be found.

Outside the walls of Ranta Park's tent city, the streets are beginning to come back to life. Small groups work together to clear sidewalks and roads of rubble after the earthquake. Cars and motorbikes buzz down the streets, while shops reopen for business. Street vendors are out once again.

But Ranta Park is still a grim place There are few signs of activity here, as families wait for some change in the status quo.

Makeshift field hospital

Some 5,489 people were confirmed dead as of Thursday morning as a result of the massive earthquake, with another 11,440 injured, Nepal's National Emergency Coordination Center told CNN. Officials have warned the death toll is expected to rise.

Nineteen of the deaths occurred on Mount Everest, where the tremors set off deadly avalanches , the Nepal Mountaineering Association said.

Two neighboring countries, India and China, have reported totals of 72 and 25 deaths from the quake, respectively.

Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese police officers clear debris from Durbar Square in Kathmandu on Sunday, May 3. A magnitude-7.8 earthquake centered less than 50 miles from Kathmandu rocked Nepal with devastating force Saturday, April 25. The earthquake and its aftershocks have turned one of the world's most scenic regions into a panorama of devastation, killing and injuring thousands. Hide Caption 1 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An injured Nepalese woman is carried by villagers toward an Indian army helicopter to be airlifted from Philim village in Gorkha district in Nepal on May 3. Hide Caption 2 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Members of the Tsayana family warm themselves next to a fire outside their damaged house on May 3 in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Hide Caption 3 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A woman receives comfort during the funeral of her mother, a victim of Nepal's deadly earthquake, on Friday, May 1, in Kathmandu. Hide Caption 4 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Hindu priests perform rituals during the cremations of victims at the Pashupatinath Temple on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu on May 1. Hide Caption 5 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People await aid from an Indian army helicopter in front of damaged homes in Kulgaun, Nepal, on May 1. Hide Caption 6 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An injured woman gets carried on a stretcher at Kathmandu's airport after being evacuated from Melamchi, Nepal, on May 1. Hide Caption 7 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department guides his sniffing dog through a collapsed building in Kathmandu on Thursday, April 30. Hide Caption 8 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A teenage boy gets rushed to a hospital April 30 after being rescued from the debris of a building in Kathmandu days after the earthquake. Hide Caption 9 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A man is freed from the ruins of a hotel by French rescuers in the Gangabu area of Kathmandu on Tuesday, April 28. Reuters identified the man as Rishi Khanal. Hide Caption 10 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese military police search through rubble outside Kathmandu on April 28. Hide Caption 11 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People rest April 28 in a temporary housing camp in Kathmandu. Large encampments of tents have sprung up in open areas, including a wide space belonging to the military in the center of the capital. Hide Caption 12 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A family collects belongings from their home in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on Monday, April 27. Hide Caption 13 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Damaged buildings lean to the side in Kathmandu on April 27. Hide Caption 14 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Hide Caption 15 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Members of the Nepalese army retrieve bodies from a collapsed building in Bhaktapur near Kathmandu on April 27. Hide Caption 16 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Nepalese soldiers carry a wounded woman to a helicopter as they evacuate people from Trishuli Bazar, Nepal, on April 27. Hide Caption 17 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People charge their cell phones in an open area in Kathmandu on April 27. Hide Caption 18 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Emergency personnel evacuate an injured man to a waiting helicopter in Trishuli Bazar on April 27. Hide Caption 19 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An aerial view of the devastation in Kathmandu on April 27. The destruction in Nepal's capital is stark: revered temples reduced to rubble, people buried in the wreckage of their homes, hospitals short on medical supplies overflowing with patients. Hide Caption 20 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Residents rescue items from the debris of houses damaged in the quake in Kathmandu on April 27. Hide Caption 21 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An aervial view shows ruined buildings in Trishuli Bazar on April 27. Hide Caption 22 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A woman prays at a ruined temple in Kathmandu on April 27. Hide Caption 23 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People rest in temporary shelters in Kathmandu on April 27. Hide Caption 24 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Residents cycle over damaged roads on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Sunday, April 26. Hide Caption 25 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Four-month-old Sonit Awal is held up by Nepalese army soldiers after being rescued from the rubble of his house in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on April 26. Hide Caption 26 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal The newspaper that provided photographs of the baby's rescue says the Nepalese army initially left the site, thinking the baby had not survived. Hours later when the infant's cries were heard, soldiers came back and rescued him. Hide Caption 27 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal The newspaper adds the Nepalese Army had initially failed to rescue the baby and left the site thinking the baby had not survived. Hours later when the baby's cries were heard the army came back and rescued him. Hide Caption 28 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A woman cries after identifying the body of a relative in Bhaktapur on April 26. Hide Caption 29 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Men clear debris in Bhaktapur on April 26. Hide Caption 30 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A truck evacuates residents from Kathmandu on April 26. Hide Caption 31 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A Buddha statue is surrounded by debris on April 26 from a collapsed temple in the UNESCO world heritage site of Bhaktapur. Hide Caption 32 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An elderly woman is helped to her home after being treated for her injuries in Bhaktapur on April 26. Hide Caption 33 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Family members break down on April 26 during the cremation of a loved one killed in Bhaktapur. Hide Caption 34 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Smoke from funeral pyres fills the air at the Pashupatinath temple on the banks of Bagmati River in Kathmandu on April 26. Hide Caption 35 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Members of India's National Disaster Response Force look for survivors in Kathmandu on April 26. Hide Caption 36 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Rescue workers remove debris on April 26 as they search for victims in Bhaktapur. Hide Caption 37 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People look at the debris of one of the oldest temples in Kathmandu on April 26. Hide Caption 38 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People sleep on a street in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Saturday, April 25. A seemingly endless series of aftershocks continued to roil the area, further traumatizing survivors. Hide Caption 39 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Civilian rescuers carry a person on a stretcher in Kathmandu on April 25. Hide Caption 40 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People try to free a man from the rubble in Kathmandu on April 25. Cheers rose from the piles when people were found alive -- but mostly bodies turned up. Hide Caption 41 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Pedestrians walk past collapsed buildings in Kathmandu on April 25. Hide Caption 42 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Azim Afif, of the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia climbing team, provided this photo of their Mount Everest base camp after it was ravaged by an avalanche triggered by the earthquake on April 25. All of Afif's five-member team survived. Hide Caption 43 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Rescuers clear rubble in Kathmandu's Basantapur Durbar Square on April 25. Hide Caption 44 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A temple on Hanumandhoka Durbar Square lies in ruins after an earthquake in Kathmandu on April 25. Hide Caption 45 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Dharahara, a tower dating back to 1832 that rose more than 60 meters (200 feet) and provided breathtaking views of Kathmandu and the surrounding Himalayas, collapsed in the earthquake on April 25. Hide Caption 46 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal The hand of a statue is seen under debris in Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Hide Caption 47 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A Nepalese man and woman hold each other in Kathmandu's Basantapur Durbar Square on April 25. Hide Caption 48 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A victim of Nepal's earthquake lies in the debris of Dharahara after it collapsed on April 25 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hide Caption 49 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Rescuers look for victims under a collapsed building in Kathmandu on April 25. Hide Caption 50 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Volunteers carry a body recovered from the debris of a collapsed building in Kathmandu. Hide Caption 51 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A victim's body is seen in the debris of the collapsed Dharahara on April 25. Hide Caption 52 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Emergency rescue workers carry a victim from Dharahara after the tower in Kathmandu collapsed on April 25. Hide Caption 53 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People free a man from the rubble of a destroyed building in Kathmandu. Hide Caption 54 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal A man walks past a collapsed temple at Basantapur Durbar Square. Hide Caption 55 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Rescue workers clear debris in Kathmandu while searching for survivors. Hide Caption 56 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People huddle together outside a hospital in Kathmandu. Eyewitnesses said residents were scared and waiting for aftershocks to end. Hide Caption 57 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People search for survivors stuck under the rubble of a destroyed building in Kathmandu. Hide Caption 58 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Injured people receive treatment in Kathmandu. A CNN reporter said medics were focused on treating the most severely injured. Hide Caption 59 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal Emergency rescue workers search for survivors in the debris of Dharahara on April 25. Hide Caption 60 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An injured child lies on the ground outside a hospital in Kathmandu on April 25. Hide Caption 61 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal People help with rescue efforts at the site of a collapsed building in Kathmandu. Hide Caption 62 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal An injured child receives treatment outside Medicare Hospital in Kathmandu on April 25. Residents, after a relentless series of aftershocks, have been remaining outdoors. Hide Caption 63 of 64 Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Nepal The rubble of collapsed walls fills a street in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on April 25. Hide Caption 64 of 64

The frequent downpours in Nepal have made it harder for emergency workers to help the injured.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta was at an army field hospital in Kathmandu when the heavens opened Tuesday.

"The rain has arrived, and in many cases, this is the worst-case scenario," he said. "This is what they were hoping wouldn't happen."

Gupta said it was "kind of remarkable what they've been able to do" at the makeshift hospital. Over three days, the medical staff there had treated 617 patients and saved 586 of them.

Monsoon looms

The rain has also increased the risk of landslides and mudslides across rugged terrain already destabilized by the earthquake's tremors.

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Two landslides were reported Tuesday afternoon in the Langtang region, a popular trekking area north of Kathmandu. As many as 200 people were feared to be missing in each of the landslides, officials said.

Foreigners are among the missing from one of them, said Gautam Rimal, a senior official in Rasuwa district. He said 210 people had been rescued from the area Wednesday by government helicopters.

Peter Bodde, U.S. ambassador to Nepal, said via Twitter on Wednesday that four U.S. citizens trapped in Langtang were among those rescued and that they were on their way to Kathmandu.

According to army officials, dozens of foreigners are among those saved from the Dhunche area, near Langtang, in the past three days. Other victims, including foreigners, still wait to be brought out.

Villagers cut off from families

Many people are stuck at the main town in Gorkha, unable to reach their families in villages cut off by the earthquake.

They include Kumar Gurung, a 37-year-old man who has had no word from his wife and four children since the hours after the quake, according to Darvas.

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Gurung was on his way to a town 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) away for an animal health training course when the earthquake threw his plans into chaos.

Now he can't get back to his village, Singla, which is perched on a mountain above a cliff face and would take days to reach after landslides blocked roads. Before he lost contact with them, the people in his village told him that at least 70% of the dwellings in the village had been destroyed.

Darvas said that Gurung told him: "I am incredibly sad about this situation and want to rescue not just my family but all of my friends in the village, but I don't know what to do or how to reach them."

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Local leaders in the main town in Gorkha are "absolutely exhausted and totally stretched" as they try to deal with the crisis in their district, Darvas said.

Their difficulties are being shared by other officials across Nepal. An influx of international aid is struggling to find its way to many of the people in need. Officials have reported logjams at Kathmandu's airport as well as on the way to badly affected areas.

Anger flares in Kathmandu

In Kathmandu, where the quake felled temples and homes across the city of more than 1.7 million, many people are desperately trying to return to their family homes in the countryside.

The situation has led to angry outbursts at times.

One 13-year-old girl, Manushi, who joined protests Wednesday in Kathmandu, told CNN that too little was being done to help.

The 14 people in her family were getting only one plate of food for every two of them, she said.

On Tuesday, a squad of riot police was deployed in response to a short-lived effort to block traffic as part of a demonstration.

Queuing for the bus, disaster zone edition. Lines for free bus trips to get ppl back to villages & out of #Kathmandu pic.twitter.com/jqCJSKnZv8 — Tim Hume (@tim_hume) April 29, 2015

Protesters were shouting "down with the government" and accusing authorities of not doing enough to stop bus companies from hiking their prices. They also complained the government hadn't done enough to help victims of the disaster.

Police officials said Wednesday that they had deployed troops to help manage the throngs of people seeking transportation out of town and that there had been some reports of looting but no serious breakdown in order.

"People just want to get home," said Pushparam KC, a spokesman for Nepal's Armed Police.

But those people were much better off than those cramming the wards in nearby hospitals.

Rishi Khanal , 27, had just undergone surgery and was resting, surrounded by family and friends. He had been buried under the rubble for 82 hours before a French rescue team pulled him out Tuesday. His rescue took several hours, and Nepalese police posted a video of it on YouTube.

Khanal had spoken briefly to a few reporters but on this afternoon, he could not. He was too distraught and too feeble. His foot was crushed and his relatives did not want him to relive the trauma of having survived buried for more than three days.

But he was alive. A sign of hope in a hospital full of despair.