Nepal will start repairs and reconstruction this week for nearly a million homes damaged by last year's deadly earthquakes, the head of a state agency said yesterday, nearly nine months after the disaster left hundreds of thousands homeless. Two tremors last April and May killed 9,000 people, injured more than 22,000 and damaged or destroyed more than 900,000 houses, forcing many to brave freezing temperatures living in temporary shelters made from tarps and corrugated iron sheets. The National Reconstruction Authority agency was launched in September but political squabbling has delayed the deployment of $4.1 billion pledged by foreign donors for reconstruction.