A body of a victim lies trapped in the debris after an earthquake hit, in Kathmandu.
The death toll in the earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday has risen
to 876, a home ministry official said, of which 467 were in the
Kathmandu Valley that is the most heavily populated part of the Himalayan country.
Earlier, a home ministry official said that 181 people had died in
the capital Kathmandu in the quake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter
scale.
The powerful quake destroyed several buildings including a UNESCO
World Heritage site and the centuries-old Dharhara tower in the heart of
the capital trapping scores of people.
The earthquake with epicentre at Lamjung, around 80 kilometers
northwest of Kathmandu, had its impact in several cities in Bihar and
West Bengal and eastern India. It was also felt in China and as far as
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The quake measured 7.9, the US Geological Survey said. A number of
aftershocks were felt for a long time. Witnesses and media reports said
the quake tremors lasted between 30 seconds and two minutes.
Several buildings in the densely-populated Kathmandu Valley collapsed
killing more than 70 people, a home ministry official said.
Kathmandu’s Darbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was
completely damaged in the quake. The official said so far more than 150
people have been reported killed.
The earthquake first struck around 11:56 am followed by aftershocks, Nepal Police spokesperson Kamal Singh Ban said.
“There are some casualties in Pokhra. In Gorkha district 10-12 people
have been killed,” he said. There is a breakdown in communication. “We
are collecting information and mobilising forces for evacuation,” he
said.
Indian Embassy spokesperson Abhay Kumar said some walls have
collapsed in the impact of the major earthquake and the embassy has set
up two helplines.
“I see many old walls have fallen because it was a major earthquake.
And aftershocks of the earthquake that are pretty strong were still
being felt. People are still outside,” he said.
The landmark Dharhara tower in the centre of the capital collapsed and several people are feared trapped.
Nepal’s Kantipur TV showed at least 21 bodies lined up on ground
after the earthquake. Doctors at the main civil hospital here said 36
bodies have arrived so far after quake. Television pictures showed some
of the rescued being rushed to hospitals.
Live updates below
7.30 pm:
7.00 pm: Calls from BSNL network to Nepal charged as local calls for next 3 days.
6.30 pm: We have mobilised all resources to support Nepal in the wake of devastating earthquake: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
6.00 pm: First IAF aircraft lands at Kathmandu with relief personnel, equipment.
5.28 pm: Karnataka CMO: 85 people from state rescued in Biratnagar, Nepal. They will travel to Varanasi tomorrow and reach home.
5.15 pm: At least 17 persons were killed and 48
injured in roof and wall collapse in Bihar after a high intensity
earthquake rocked several parts of the country and Nepal today.
5.06 pm: 4 NDRF teams from the battalion stationed at Bathinda moved to Nepal by air for relief ops.
5.00 pm:
4.50 pm:
4.30 pm: Avalanche triggered by quake buries part of Nepal Everest Base camp, eight dead: Tourism official.
4.25 pm: First C-130 has taken off from Hindon
airbase. NDRF plus rescue equipment. IAF has MI-17 helicopter units at
Gorakhpur and Bagdogra. Closest to Nepal. Likely to be pressed into
service. Gorakhpur likely to be the base in India for these rescue and
relief operations in Nepal.
4.20 pm: At Tribhuvan international airport that
shares boundary with domestic airport,the air traffic towers went
unmanned for hours because of the tremor shocks. Landing and take off of
international flights have been suspended as the government is taking
stock of the situation.
4.00 pm: Nepal death toll from quake rises to 449: police
3.30 pm:
2: 57 pm: Kathmandu main civil hospital says 36
bodies counted so far after quake, scores are being treated, says a
doctor according to Reuters.
[Watch video below]
2:52 pm: Google has launched a Person Finder instance to help track missing persons for the Nepal earthquake.
2: 50 pm: A group of 20 people from Malkajgiri area
of Hyderabad had a narrow escape. They were in the fourth floor of a
hotel in Kathmandu when the tremors hit. They ran down to safety.
2: 45 pm: “I saw buildings around me collapse. For a
moment, I felt I would die. Later, I helped the police pull out a
couple of people from the rubble,” IndianExpress.com journalist
Abhimanyu Chakraborty phoned in to report from Kathmandu. Abhimanyu was
at the famous Swayambhunath Temple at the time of the earthquake.
He, however, said there were no fatalities reported in the area so
far, though some people have been injured by the falling debris. The
area is being hit by frequent aftershocks since the first quake.
2.11 pm: Kathmandu emergency numbers – 09771 4261945/ 4261790
2 pm: A house has collapsed in Siliguri’s Pradhan Nagar in West Bengal following the tremors.
At least 34 dead in India due to Nepal quake
Tremors from the massive Nepal earthquake were felt across northern
India leaving at least 34 dead.
Aftershocks of the massive earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday has
so far killed at least 34 in India, said Union Home Secretary L C Goyal
said . The earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit the
neighbouring country today early afternoon and its tremors were felt
across most of northern India.
The high intensity earthquake left at least 17 persons dead and 48 injured
after a roof and wall collapsed in Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
cut short his visit in Delhi and rushed back home in the wake of the
earthquake to monitor the relief work.
In Uttar Pradesh, tremors felt due to the quake resulted in collapse of buildings and walls killing at least six persons.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced a financial assistance of
Rs 5 lakh to the kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to grievously
injured.
Reports from West Bengal say that at least one person was dead and 66 others were injured in quake-related accidents.
What 7.9 magnitude Richter Scale earthquake actually means
A man injured in the earthquake in Nepal
India was hit by one of the strongest earthquakes in recent times
when a 7.9 magnitude quake centred in Nepal sent strong tremors though
most of north India.
The epicenter of the earthquake was at a place 81 km northwest of
Kathmandu in Nepal, the US Geological Survey said. The site is 29 km
east of Lamjung and 53 km northeast of Bharatpur in Nepal. The
earthquake was earlier measured to be 7.4 on Richter scale but the USGS
later updated it to 7.9.
The earthquake is strongest ever in the region in the last 80 years,
second only to 8.3 magnitude earthquake on the Bihar-Nepal border in
1934. In 2011, the Sikkim-Nepal border had experienced a quake of 6.9
magnitude.
The Indian Meteorological Department in its preliminary report said the earthquake originated 10 km below the earth’s surface.
Television pictures showed damaged buildings in Nepal. The extent of damage, if any, in India was not immediately known.
Several aftershocks have been felt in many places after the main
quake. The strongest of these was measured 6.6 on the Richter scale.
Earthquakes of this magnitude are followed by a series of aftershocks of
smaller intensities.
The region is earthquake prone because of an interaction between the
Himalayan and the Eurasian tectonic plates. Scientists now say that the
Indian landmass is moving not just northwards but also towards the west.
The westward rotational movements have been found to be behind some of
the recent earthquakes, including the 2011 quake in Sikkim.
Just how much is 7.9 on Richter Scale?
An earthquake of magnitude 7 would be 10 times more in strength than
one of magnitude 6. In terms of energy, it would release 32 times more
energy. The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale. As it goes higher up, a
difference of a decimal point can mean a huge variance in terms of
destruction. Earthquakes are measured in terms of vertical ground
movements of the earth. A magnitude of 3 on the Richter Scale results in
about one millimeter of vertical movement in the earth’s surface at a
distance of 100 km from the epicenter.
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रिक्टर स्केल को ऐसे समझें
| रिक्टर स्केल | असर |
| 0 से 1.9 | सिर्फ सीज्मोग्राफ से ही पता चलता है। |
| 2 से 2.9 | हल्का कंपन। |
| 3 से 3.9 | कोई ट्रक आपके नजदीक से गुजर जाए, ऐसा असर। |
| 4 से 4.9 | खिड़कियां टूट सकती हैं। दीवारों पर टंगी फ्रेम गिर सकती हैं। |
| 5 से 5.9 | फर्नीचर हिल सकता है। |
| 6 से 6.9 | इमारतों की नींव दरक सकती है। ऊपरी मंजिलों को नुकसान हो सकता है। |
| 7 से 7.9 | इमारतें गिर जाती हैं। जमीन के अंदर पाइप फट जाते हैं। |
| 8 से 8.9 | इमारतों सहित बड़े पुल भी गिर जाते हैं। |
| 9 और उससे ज्यादा | पूरी तबाही। कोई मैदान में खड़ा हो तो उसे धरती लहराते हुए दिखेगी। समंदर नजदीक हो तो सुनामी। |
* भूकंप में रिक्टर पैमाने का हर स्केल पिछले स्केल के मुकाबले 10 गुना ज्यादा ताकतवर होता है।
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