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7.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Nepal; devastating loss of people, history ~ Video
Saturday, April 25, 2015 19:03
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Excerpt from cnn.com
Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN)Rescue crews and residents in Nepal early Sunday began the desperate search for survivors after a magnitude-7.8 quake near the capital of Kathmandu a day earlier flattened homes, buildings and temples, causing widespread damage across the region and killing more than 1,400 people.
Whole streets and squares in the capital of roughly 1 million people were covered in rubble. Stunned residents stared at temples that were once part of their daily lives and now were reduced to nothing.
Locals and tourists ferreted through mounds of debris in search of survivors. Cheers rose from the piles when people were found alive — but mostly bodies turned up. The injured ended up being treated outside overflowing hospitals, where crowds of people gathered looking for relatives.
Dozens of bodies were pulled from the nine-story Dharahara tower that came crashing down during the quake. At least 13 people were killed on Mount Everest, where the quake caused multiple avalanches.
A seemingly endless series of aftershocks continued to roil the area, further traumatizing survivors. Residents huddled in the cold rain overnight for safety.
And the death toll of 1,457 is expected to rise as the full extent of the damage is assessed.
The loss of life reported so far “is really based on the information we have from the main cities,” Lex Kassenberg, Nepal country director for CARE International, told CNN. “But if you look at the spread of the earthquake a lot of the rural areas have been hit as well. The information we received from the field is that 80% of the houses in these rural areas have been destroyed.”
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Death toll likely to rise
An estimated 4.6 million people in the region were exposed to tremors from the Nepal earthquake, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said via Twitter. Thirty out of 75 districts were affected by the quake.
In neighboring Tibet, roads buckled, buildings collapsed and at least 13 people were killed, China’s state media reported, citing local authorities.
Separately, at least four Chinese citizens in Nepal — two workers with a Chinese company, a tourist and a mountaineer — have been killed, state media reported, citing the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.
Officials in India confirmed at least 34 deaths in three states from the Nepal quake.
The quake struck Saturday at 11:56 a.m. local time (2:11 a.m. ET) and was centered less than 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu. It occurred at a depth of 9.3 miles, which is considered shallow and more damaging than a deeper quake. It was reported by people in the area as having lasted a long time. One person said he felt as if he were on a ship in rough seas.
Kathmandu, which sits in a valley surrounded by the Himalayas, has a population of about 1 million.
Siobhan Heanue, a reporter with ABC News Australia, told CNN she was wandering at an ancient temple complex at the moment of the earthquake. Several temples collapsed around her, she said.
“It’s not too often you find yourself in a situation where you have to run for your life,” Heanue said, adding that she sought shelter under the table of a cafe. “It was utterly terrifying and, of course, the screams and the chaos of people scrambling for shelter around me in utter confusion and despair.”
Devastating loss of people, history
She watched as residents picked through the rubble of a destroyed temple.
“Unfortunately, that search was not fruitful,” Heanue said. “There were 12 bodies at least pulled from the rubble in the square. This was just one of several historical temple complexes severely affected by the earthquake.”
Dr. Dietric Hennings, a Tulane University surgeon who happened to be in Kathmandu on a humanitarian mission, said he treated people at his hotel. He expected to see patients at a hospital emergency room as soon as the U.S. Embassy gave its approval.
“The largest thing in this situation is crush injuries, people with complex fractures of their limbs,” he said. “The worst-case scenario in this situation is amputations. The injuries we’ve treated so far are lacerations from broken glass.”
Thomas Nybo, a freelance photographer, was sitting in a coffee shop in Kathmandu’s Temal district. It appeared to be a minor tremor at first but gradually gained intensity, he told CNN.
Thousands poured onto the streets of the densely populated tourist hub.
Thousands poured onto the streets of the densely populated tourist hub.
“This region is no stranger to earthquakes,” he said. “A lot of people had the same feeling: This is a tremor, it passed. When that wasn’t the case, they were in uncharted territory… It’s basically an unwritten book.”
Outside the coffee shop in Temal, Nybo said he saw a group of women gather near what had been a six-story building. One woman said children were trapped beneath rubble.
“We ran over and ran around the rubble and couldn’t hear anything,” he said. “There was no chance that they survived.”
Nearby, another building had come down on an area where locals went to do laundry and collect water, Nybo said. A voice was heard coming from the rubble.
“A group of mainly tourists started gathering rocks, hammers and pickaxes and breaking through a re-enforced concrete wall to reach this guy… It took about two hours of smashing through wall and cutting rebar with a hacksaw to pull him out alive.”
Two bodies were found near the spot where the man was rescued, Nybo said. Not far away, the bodies of three or four women were uncovered.
“Who knows how many other bodies lie beneath the rubble?” he said.
Nybo said soldiers did not appear on the streets until about two hours after the quake.
“It’s really hard to get a sense of any kind of emergency response,” he said.
The streets of Kathmandu were packed with thousands of locals and tourists who refuse to go back to their homes or hotels because of recurring aftershocks.
Denis McClean, spokesman for the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, told CNN that weak building codes in Nepal contributed to the amount of structural damage.
“Building codes in Kathmandu itself have not been well upheld in recent years,” he said. “Efforts have been made over the last few years to strengthen these building codes but, unfortunately, this comes too late for the many thousands of buildings that have gone up across the Kathmandu Valley over the last 20 years that did not adhere to the building codes.”
People ‘shaken, upset, crying’
Rob Stiles and his wife had just checked into a hotel in Kathmandu when the earthquake struck.
“It felt like it went on forever,” the California resident said.
Outside, people were running onto the street, with the temblor knocking some off their feet. A huge section of a brick wall crushed motorcycles and a car, he said.
Later, as they walked around the city, an aftershock hit.
“People were screaming and looking around,” he said. “There were people clearly shaken, upset, crying.”
Chitra Thapa, 48, a CNN security guard in Atlanta, said he spoke by telephone with relatives in Kathmandu and Pokhara, a city about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the capital. They were fine and were staying on streets.
“Everybody’s in shock,” he said. “They never felt an earthquake that big.”
He said his brother-in-law was helping in the search for survivors.
His daughter Kushum, 21, said she talked by via the Internet with relatives and friends spending the night in the cold rain. Strangers were handing out blankets and sharing food that they retrieved from their homes, she said.
“When I heard the news,” she said, “I just want to go home now. I want to help.”
‘Now there is no next time’
Kushum Thapa said she lived and studied in Kathmandu. She said she put off climbing Dharahara tower because of a fear of heights but thought that one day she would attempt it.
“I will go next time,” she recalled thinking to herself. “Now there there no next time.”
Aid agencies expressed concern for the welfare of survivors in the coming days, as overnight temperatures were expected to drop and people were forced to make do without electricity, running water and shelter.
The international community must react quickly to save lives — particularly those of children — said Devendra Tak, of the aid agency Save the Children.
“With every minute the situation becomes worse,” he said. “Tonight is going to be a very tough night out there for people in Kathmandu and for people in the surrounding villages.”
Food, clothing and medicine will be urgently required, he said.
The U.S. government is providing $1 million in immediate assistance to Nepal, the U.S. Embassy in Nepal said. American disaster response teams are also on their way to Nepal, the Embassy said via Twitter.
“To the people in Nepal and the region affected by this tragedy we send our heartfelt sympathies,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “The United States stands with you during this difficult time.
Those who faced spending the night outside already had endured a day that was difficult beyond belief. People who experienced the quake spoke by telephone with CNN, describing scenes of chaos, fear and suffering.
CNN’s Manesh Shrestha said he saw five bodies at a hospital to which he walked to seek treatment for his own injuries. People with severe injuries were lying outside, with doctors administering CPR to at least one of them, Shrestha said.
“It’s quite chaotic,” he said by phone. “People are wailing, crying.”
Shrestha, who had been cut and was in need of stitches, was turned away because other people had more dire need of care. He saw people lying outside with broken bones and head injuries.
Not far away, deadly avalanches triggered by the quake thundered down Mount Everest, sending mountaineers running for cover.
At least 13 bodies have been evacuated from Everest base camp on Saturday. The Indian Army’s Everest Expedition evacuated the bodies of the foreign mountaineers who were preparing for the summit, said Indian army spokesman Col. Rohan Anand.
Dr. Nima Namgyal, a doctor with a leading expedition on an Everest base camp, told CNN he had seen 14 dead bodies so far and that they are mainly foreign nationals.
“Everest base camp huge earthquake then huge avalanche from Pumori,” Twitter user Alex Gavan said, referring to one of the mountains on the Nepal-tibet border. “Running for life from my tent. Unhurt. Many many people up the mountain.”
Everest and the many other mountains in the region draw hikers from around the world. From social media posts and eyewitness accounts, it became evident that these trails and base camps got hit hard by the quake and the havoc it caused.
The U.S. Geological Survey had at first measured the strength at magnitude 7.5 but later upgraded it. A strong aftershock of magnitude 6.6 was recorded a little more than a half-hour afterward, along with at least 15 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the USGS reported.
One witness told CNN by phone that people had gathered outdoors in fear. Another said via Facebook that people were listening for news on their car radios.
“We are scared and waiting for the tremors to end,” Shiwani Neupane said on Facebook chat from Kathmandu. “We are all sitting outside because there is more news of another quake.
“There is no power and families are listening to the FM radio inside their cars,” Neupane said. “News of multiple building collapses.
I’ve seen many cracked walls and roads and buildings. The (Dharahara, a landmark tower in Kathmandu) was packed with people a while ago. There are police everywhere trying to move rubble to make space on the roads for ambulances. Everyone is very scared.”
I’ve seen many cracked walls and roads and buildings. The (Dharahara, a landmark tower in Kathmandu) was packed with people a while ago. There are police everywhere trying to move rubble to make space on the roads for ambulances. Everyone is very scared.”
Heanue said at least 50 bodies from pulled from the ruins of Dharahara.
People experienced quake as ‘severe’ to ‘violent’
The force of the quake was said by people who contacted the USGS to be from “severe” to “violent,” nearly the highest rating on the intensity scale. Tremors were felt as far as New Delhi, more than 200 miles away in neighboring India. An official said they were felt there at magnitude 5.0.
The shaking was rated as “strong” to “severe” on the USGS ShakeMap. CNN sister network CNN-IBN reported that roads in the area were out.
Kanak Masni, a journalist in Kathmandu, told CNN by phone that Dharahara — also known as the Bhimsen Tower — had tumbled down. The building, built in 1832, was more than 60 meters (200 feet) tall and provided visitors with a panoramic view of of the Kathmandu Valley.
Masni told CNN by telephone that this appeared to be “the most massive earthquake to hit central Nepal since 1934.” In that quake, which was 8.1 magnitude and centered near Mount Everest, more than 10,000 people were killed.
IBN reporter K. Dhiksit looked out his window in Kathmandu and saw the collapsed walls of many buildings. As he watched, an aftershock rattled the street. He heard “big booming sounds,” he said, and saw people fleeing into the streets.
Photos of caved-in and toppled buildings appeared on social media.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet, “We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home & in Nepal.”
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