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Hundreds
Dead After Devastating Nepal Earthquake Topples Structures, Starts
Avalanches
25
April, 2015
A
little over four years after the devastating Japanese earthquake led
to a tsunami that triggered the biggest nuclear disaster since
Chernobyl, overnight Asia was once again the epicenter of a massive,
7.9 magnitude earthquake, this time not on the Pacific Rim but deep
in the Himalayan mountain range, striking the small country of Nepal
and sending tremors deep in Northern India, resulting in at least 449
deaths, countless injured, toppling a 19th-century tower in the
capital Kathmandu and triggering avalanches on Mount Everest.
The U.S.
Geological Survey said the quake,
initially measured at 7.7 but upgraded to 7.9 magnitude, struck 80 km
(50 miles) east of Pokhara. It was only 2 km deep.
According
to Reuters, this was the worst quake to hit the impoverished
Himalayan nation in 81 years. The tremor was so strong it caused
damage in neighboring Indian states and Bangladesh. The quake was
shallow, intensifying the amount of energy released over a relatively
small area.
Reuters
further reports that
the death toll had reached 449 in Nepal according to an initial
police estimate, most from the Kathmandu Valley. There was little
information coming from the outlying areas of the mountainous country
and helicopters were circling overheard to get a better sense of the
damage.
"Hundreds
of people are feared dead and there are reports of widespread damage
to property. The devastation is not confined to some areas of Nepal.
Almost the entire country has been hit," said Krishna Prasad
Dhakal, deputy chief of mission at Nepal’s Embassy in New Delhi.
The
following photos from the scene of the incident confirm the extent of
the devastation.
Streets in #Nepal ’s capital Kathmandu severely damaged by strong M8.1 #earthquake : CENC
Second quake at M7.0 jolts ground 30km beneath #Nepal at 6:45 UTC, 34 minutes after the first: CENC
Latest pics sent to ANI from Kathmandu of #earthquake aftermath
#Earthquake #Nepal - We have reports from #Kathmandu about collapsed buildings and fatalities- wp.me/p1bAUO-Cqr
Buildings collapse, at least two killed as 7.9 quake hits Nepal, India reut.rs/1GhvSC9 via @Reuters
"Still shaking as I'm typing this.” instagram.com/p/147cg_KA7m/
7 story building collapsed in Sat-tale Kapan. #kathmandu #Nepal
As
the ongoing reports from the scene of the quake trickle in, it is
almost certain that the final death toll will be far greater,
although it will hopefully not surpass the devastating 1934 M8.3
quake that struck Nepal and killed over 8,500.
"Hundreds of people are feared dead and there are reports of widespread damage to property. The devastation is not confined to some areas of Nepal. Almost the entire country has been hit," said Krishna Prasad Dhakal, deputy chief of mission at Nepal’s Embassy in New Delhi.
"We are totally cut off from most parts of our country," said Ram Narayan Pandey of the Nepal Disaster Management Authority, who was coordinating relief efforts from Kathmandu.
The death toll in northern India rose to at least 12, with six killed in house collapses in Uttar Pradesh and six more dying in Bihar further east, according to government officials.
Striking
in immediate proximity to Mount Everest, the earthquake led to at
least one major avalanche in its aftermath. It was unknown as of this
moment if any climbers were caught in its wake.
The quake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, according to climbers there, raising fears for those on the world's highest peak a year after a massive snowslide caused the deadliest incident on the world's highest mountain.
Romanian climber Alex Gavan said on Twitter that there had been a "huge avalanche" and "many, many" people were up on the mountain. "Running for life from my tent," Gavan said. "Everest base camp huge earthquake then huge avalanche."
Another climber, Daniel Mazur, said Everest base camp had been "severely damaged" and his team was trapped. Please pray for everyone," he said on his Twitter page.
An
avalanche in April 2014 just above the base camp on Mount Everest
killed 16 Nepali guides. April is one of the most popular times to
climb Everest before rain and clouds cloak the mountain at the end of
next month.
Everest base camp huge earthquaqe then huge avalanche from pumori.Running for life from my tent. Unhurt. Many many people up the mountain.
The
quake was so powerful, tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and
other northern cities in India, with reports that they had lasted up
to a minute. "Massive tremors have been felt here in Delhi and
several other parts of India," said a newsreader on NDTV in
Delhi.
"You
can see pictures of our Delhi studios, where the windows rattled and
everything shook for a very long time, for a minute perhaps or
longer," she said as footage showed studio ceiling camera lights
shaking.
"We
are in the process of finding more information and are working to
reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," tweeted
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He
convened a high-level meeting with ministers and top officials to
assess the situation. There were no preliminary reports of damage
anywhere in India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Press Trust
of India.
The
massive quake concludes a period of relative seismic stability in the
Asian region over the past 4 years. One hopes that this isn't a
harbinger of many more earthquakes to come, and certainly none
targeting already suffering Japan, because the last things its
foundering economy, already on the Keynesian precipice, needs is an
act of nature to seal its fate.
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