Devastating Nepal Earthquake

[Natalka]

Many die in Nepal earthquake that rips cities, crumbles history

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Tens of thousands of people were spending the night in the open under a chilly and thunderous sky after a powerful earthquake devastated Nepal on Saturday, killing nearly 1,400, collapsing modern houses and ancient temples and triggering a landslide on Mount Everest. Officials warned the death toll would rise as more reports came in from far-flung areas.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which originated outside the capital Kathmandu, was the worst tremor to hit the poor South Asian nation in over 80 years. It strong enough to be felt all across the northern part of neighbouring India, Bangladesh, Tibet and Pakistan, where a total of 50 people died.

More than two dozen aftershocks jolted the area after the first quake, which struck just before noon.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 7.8. It said the quake hit at 11:56 a.m. local time (0611 GMT) at Lamjung, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu. Its depth was only 11 kilometres (7 miles), the largest shallow quake since the 8.2 temblor off the coast of Chile on April 1, 2014.
The shallower the quake the more destructive power it carries.
A magnitude 7 quake is capable of widespread and heavy damage while an 8 magnitude quake can cause tremendous damage. This means Saturday’s quake – with the same magnitude as the one that hit San Francisco in 1906 – was about 16 times more powerful than the 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti in 2010.







http://globalnews.ca/news/1960937/10...ng-big-damage/

[Natalka]

Canadian trekkers caught in the streets of Kathmandu
during earthquake, witness destruction

A group Canadian trekkers preparing to hike to the Mt. Everest base camp were caught in the streets of Kathmandu today during the violent earthquake and were eyewitnesses to the destruction and the panic that ensued.



One of the participants, Harry Binks, said that all 22 Canadians were safe. They were in Nepal for the Everest base camp trek as fundraisers for various charities but are wondering if they will have to delay their trip. The group, which includes people from Ottawa, Huntsville and Brockville, Ontario, are part of the Dream Mountains Foundation and have raised $160,000 for charity.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1961436/ca...s-destruction/

[Natalka]

Historic Dharahara tower collapses in Kathmandu, Nepal, after the earthquake


Among the buildings destroyed by the earthquake was the Unesco-listed Dharahara Tower. The 60m tower was built in 1832 for the Queen of Nepal. Yesterday, all that remained of the lighthouse-like building was a jagged stump just 10m high.
The tower was a popular tourist destination and every weekend hundreds of people paid to go up to the viewing platform on its eighth storey. It is not yet clear how many tourists were on the tower when it collapsed, though reports indicate that several bodies were later extracted from the ruins.

While the scale of the disaster has yet to be ascertained, the earthquake is likely to put a huge strain on the resources of this poor country, best known for the highest mountain in the world and its rich Hindu culture. The economy of Nepal is heavily dependent on tourism, principally trekking and Himalayan mountain climbing.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...more-than-1000

[Durham Couponer]

The stories just get worse every hour. All those villages that haven't been reached yet, people buried under stone, just awful.

[Darth Penguin]

Everest avalances caused by earthquake kills 17

Jon Reiter told CNN on Sunday morning that 17 people had been killed on the mountain.
The Indian Army's Everest Expedition evacuated the bodies of 13 mountaineers from a base camp who had been preparing for to scale the mountain, spokesman Col. Rohan Anand said Saturday. Separately, Dr. Nima Namgyal told CNN he has seen 14 bodies so far.
Many of those killed came from other countries, according to Namagyal, something that's not surprising given Everest's lure for many hikers around the world.
What may be as remarkable is all those who survived, a number that's likely in the hundreds. They are women and men like Alex Gavan, who tweeted about running for his life from his tent.

[Insane]

A friend of mine was at the center of it. She's travelling the world and only arrived less than 24hrs earlier. She's safe at the Canadian Consulate. But posted some pics of the widespread destruction. I can't even fathom to not only be fearing for your life but to be in it right now. She said she's thankful to be at the consulate as they have water and generators and computers. She said they can't leave as the road to the airport is closed. Thankful she's safe and sound. Horribly sad for all those who aren't.

[Natalka]

Insane, I'm so glad your friend is safe.

--

Large quakes are generally followed by a flurry of aftershocks, which tend to reduce in strength and frequency as time goes on.
As a rule of thumb, seismologists might expect to see at least one aftershock that measures roughly a magnitude less than the main shock. One of these, with a Magnitude of 6.6, was seen just half an hour after Saturday's main 7.8 event. Sunday has now experienced a further big aftershock of 6.7. From the early data, the tremor looks to have originated closer to the surface than Saturday's big shakers.


The death toll from the original earthquake could rise, as the situation is unclear in remote areas which remain cut off or hard to access.
Many mountain roads are cracked or blocked by landslides.
Scores of bodies have been ferried to hospitals in Kathmandu, many of which are struggling to cope with the number of injured.


Helicopters have begun ferrying injured people out of Everest Base Camp

more photos and info here

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32470731

[momof3heathens]

My stomach has been in knots since yesterday. So very sad.

[Natalka]

Should anyone want to help, some links are here

http://globalnews.ca/news/1961303/ho...al-earthquake/

We support Doctors Without Borders for their work. They also have very low admin percentages.

[Lynn49]

So terribly sad; I can't imagine what it would be like to caught up in something to terrifying. I told my hubby this morning, no traveling anywhere in the world that's an earthquake zone!!

It boggles my mind....I've seen documentaries about how sensitive equipment is planted in those zones to warn people...that the "tremors" that signal earthquakes can be monitored...so how on earth could something like this happen?!
No warning tremors?

[Natalka]

Lynn, it's a matter of money to have those systems

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/earth...-pricey-758379


Nepal's devastating earthquake was the disaster experts knew was coming.
Just a week ago, about 50 earthquake and social scientists from around the world came to Kathmandu, Nepal, to figure out how to get this poor, congested, overdeveloped, shoddily built area to prepare better for the big one, a repeat of the 1934 temblor that leveled this city. They knew they were racing the clock, but they didn't know when what they feared would strike.
"It was sort of a nightmare waiting to happen," said seismologist James Jackson, head of the earth sciences department at the University of Cambridge in England. "Physically and geologically what happened is exactly what we thought would happen."
But he didn't expect the massive quake that struck Saturday to happen so soon.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/e...inglePage=true

[Natalka]

The international aid effort for Nepal is gathering pace, with Saturday's huge earthquake now known to have killed at least 3,900 people and injured 7,000.

On this link there's a video of the avalanche at Mt. Everest, and further down the page, a video of a reporter just when an aftershock came.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32483119

Canadian aid - $5million, DART, etc.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nepal-...team-1.3049738

[Shwa Girl]

Canadian aid - $5million, DART, etc.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nepal-...team-1.3049738

thx for this thread
they just said on the news that the federal government will match Canadians' contributions made since last Saturday, into May. Ends May 29th, I think

[Natalka]

^ That's so great when they do the donation matching!

[trishka]

This is absolutely heartbreaking.

Insane, glad to hear your friend is okay. I have a friend who has been in Nepal for the past 6 months, he's been working at an orphanage. Thankfully he's okay but three of the kids are missing. Another friend of mine works with MSF often and will likely be going to Nepal soon.

Also, for those that go to David's Tea, until May 4 all profits of the sale of Nepal black tea will go to Red Cross.