Intense Earthquake leaves Nepal in ruins

A devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit the land of Nepal on Saturday noon which left it reeling to its strong tremors. It is being considered as the worst earthquake to have hit Nepal for more than 80 years as it has caused massive loss of life and property.

This high intensity quake was centered in Lamjung which is around 80 kms northwest of Kathmandu and as a result strong tremors were also experienced in India, China and Bangladesh. Reported to have lasted between 30 seconds to 2 minutes, this calamity sent the people running around in panic  for open ground in the city. Many of the city’s heritage sites which provided a sense of pride to the people of Nepal and which had stood the test of time were also badly destroyed.

And the terrifying aftershocks just added to all the misery with Sunday noon seeing another intense 6.7 magnitude tremor in Nepal and other neighbouring countries. Death toll after this, rose above 3,000 and 6,500 were reported to be injured. About 62 deaths have been reported in India with 50 in Bihar alone. Around 20 people in China died. The quake also triggered a massive avalanche in Mount Everest region killing at least 22 people.

Extending help and support, India, Pakistan and China were the first to respond with aid and rescue teams and Israel, Germany, France and UAE are also extending help. Many rescue helicopters have been deployed to pick survivors from the foot of the Mount Everest also.

Since then, tent cities have come up in Nepal to keep people safe in open, hospitals are overflowing with victims, power has been off, shops have been closed. With this intense disaster, life has almost come to a halt for people in Nepal and other severely affected areas in other places. Kathmandu which was the centre of this quake, however, has now become the focus of international disaster relief efforts. So, let’s hope that Nepal as well as other affected areas recover soon from this unfortunate happening and are able to resume normal living again!

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