Death toll from Nepal earthquake passes 1,400

[Lite Beer]

MASSIVE QUAKE
Death toll from Nepal earthquake passes 1,400


Photo : EPA

KATHMANDU: -- The death toll from a massive earthquake that devastated parts of Nepal on Saturday has reached 1,457, Nepal's finance minister wrote on his twitter account.

Minister Ram Sharan Mahat based the death toll on reports from the Nepalese Army.

Hundreds of people died and many more were feared trapped in rubble Saturday after a magnitude-7.9 earthquake devastated Nepal’s capital and provoked a caused a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

The earthquake hit at 0611 GMT, with its epicentre about 80 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

A spokesman for the Nepalese Interior Ministry said the provisional death toll stood at around 888. The figure is likely to be higher given that many people are believed to buried under rubble, including in remote areas. More than 1,800 had been injured.

As night fell in Kathmandu, residents prepared to sleep on the streets. Some had lost their homes and others feared aftershocks.

The ancient historic centre of the city was a picture of devastation. Roads cracked wide, rescue workers and families scrambled for missing loved ones among buildings collapsed into rubble and crowds outside hospitals where beds with injured spilled onto the streets.

Large swathes of the city had no electricity and communication lines were hit.

The tremor was the worst to hit Nepal since 1934, when a similarly powerful quake killed 17,000 people, mostly in Kathmandu.

The government declared a state of emergency in the areas affected bythe earthquake and appealed for humanitarian assistance.

The earthquake was also felt in India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. More 40 deaths were reported in those countries, with most of the casualties occurring in India’s eastern Bihar state, which borders Nepal.

Most of the deaths were caused by building and wall collapses.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an emergency meeting and the country started airlifting rescue and relief material and personnel to land-locked Nepal which sits along the Himalayan range.

India has sent four tons of supplies - food, water, communications systems and other equipment and 40 trained rescue personnel to Nepal and plans to send two more aircraft with medical supplies and doctors, an Indian Defence Ministry spokesman said.

Russia said it would send some 50 rescue personnel.

"There is devastation everywhere. I saw two people get hit by bits ofa falling building and die in New Road," said Yogesh Sitaula as he walked through the city. "There are fallen buildings and walls all over. People are being treated on streets. Hospitals are crammed."

The city’s international airport was briefly closed as a precaution,with flights diverted to airports in India.

No commercial flights were operating from the Kathmandu airport, but Indian aircraft with relief materials and rescue equipment were landing, India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said.

Buildings in Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the centre of Kathmandu, were destroyed, leaving mounds of timber and rubble, Nepal’s Kantipur television reported.

"I saw people who were very scared but also helping each other. A lot of people are feared buried under these old houses, some of them are100 years old," Kathmandu-based journalist Kashish Shreshtha added.

"Kathmandu Durbar Square, a historic UNESCO heritage site, has turnedinto a rubble. All the temples are destroyed. There was a blood donation camp ongoing at one of the heritage sites. The building collapsed and it seems everyone is dead," Shreshtha added.

At another location, a Christian congregation of some 40-50 members were buried under the rubble when the earthquake destroyed the building where the church stood, Shyam Krishna, Kathmandu resident said.

"They (the congregations) were in the sixth floor in the seven storey building, and the whole building turned to dust. The congregation was meeting for their weekly Saturday service. It seems no one survived,"Krishna said.

The earthquake also triggered avalanches on Mount Everest, a popular destination for climbers. At least eight people were killed in one such avalanche near the Everest base camp.

"The communication is not very good up there, and the toll could still go up," Gyanendra Shrestha, a tourism official, told dpa.

"We are not certain about the nationality of those killed. Several hundred climbers were in the base camp area."

Daniel Mazur, a climber, said on Twitter that the camp had been"severely damaged."

Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala cut short his trip to Bangkok and Jakarta, where he was due to attend a meeting of Asian and African leaders on Sunday.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Death-toll-from-Nepal-earthquake-passes-1400-30258769.html

-- The Nation 2015-04-26

[Robby nz]

A huge quake and a real tragedy.

How about getting a couple of C130's in the air with relief supplies and S&R teams ?

[Lite Beer]

RT@AP: BREAKING: Death toll from Nepal earthquake reaches 1,805; 60 more die in neighboring regions http://t.co/K1PfF3ub6I

[Scott]

Troll post removed.

[Lite Beer]

Avalanche sweeps Everest base camp, killing 17, injuring 61
By TIM SULLIVAN and BINAJ GURUBACHARYA

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An avalanche triggered by Nepal's massive earthquake slammed into a section of the Mount Everest mountaineering base camp, killing at least 17, injuring 61 and leaving an unknown number of climbers and guides unaccounted for on other routes, an official said Sunday.

Twenty-two of the most seriously injured were taken by helicopter to Pheriche village, the nearest medical facility. However, bad weather and communications were hampering more helicopter sorties, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

The avalanche began Saturday on Mount Kumori, a 7,000-meter (22,966-foot) -high mountain just a few miles (kilometers) from Everest, gathering strength as it headed toward the base camp where climbing expeditions have been preparing to make their summit attempts in the coming weeks, he said.

Numerous climbers may now be cut off on routes leading to the top of the world's highest peak.

The avalanche — or perhaps a series of avalanches hidden in a massive white cloud — plowed into a part of base camp, a sprawling seasonal village of climbers, guides and porters, flattening at least 30 tents, Tshering said. All of the dead and injured were at base camp.

Survivors reached over Internet messaging services and described a scene of terror as the snow and ice roared through the nearby Khumbu Icefall and into the camp.

Azim Afif, the 27-year-old leader of a climbing team from University of Technology Malaysia, said in an interview on the service WhatsApp that his group was in a meal tent waiting for lunch when suddenly the table and everything around them began shaking.

When they ran outside, they saw "a wall of ice coming towards us," and heard the cries of Sherpa guides shouting for people to run for their lives, he wrote. "We just think to find a place to hide and save our life."

The small team planned to sleep together Saturday night in one large tent "to make sure if anything happen, we are together," Afif said.

Quickly, though, climbing teams scattered across the camp and began to work together to search for survivors.

Gordon Janow, the director of programs for the Washington-based guiding outfit Alpine Ascents International, said from Seattle that his team had come through the avalanche unscathed. Their first goal was to deal with the devastation at base camp, he said, and they would then try to create new routes to help climbers stuck above the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. The icefall, which is just above base camp, is a key route up the lower part of Everest.

"Everybody's pretty much in rescue mode, but this is different from some independent climbing accident where people can be rescued and taken somewhere else," Janow said. "I don't know where somewhere else is."

By Sunday morning, authorities said at least 1,865 people across the region had been confirmed dead.

The nationalities of base camp victims were unclear as climbers described chaotic attempts to treat the injured amid fears of more landslides and aftershocks that continue to rattle the region. Chinese media reported that a Chinese climber and two Sherpa guides were among the dead.

Dan Fredinburg, a Google executive who described himself as an adventurer, was among the dead, Google confirmed. Lawrence You, the company's director of privacy, posted online that Fredinburg was with three other Google employees hiking Mount Everest. The other three, he added, are safe. Fredinburg served as product manager and the head of privacy at Google X.

The actress Sophia Bush, who has appeared in photos with Fredinburg posted by entertainment outlets, called him "one-of-a-kind" in a post on Instagram.

Hundreds of climbers — ranging from some of the world's most experienced mountaineers to relative novices on high-priced, well-guided trips —make summit attempts on Everest every year. At times, when the weather is agreeable, dozens of people can reach the summit in a single day. But high winds, brutal cold, difficult terrain and massive avalanches can hit the mountain with little or no notice. Hundreds of people have died on the mountain over the years.

Reports in China said an amateur team encountered an avalanche on the north slope of the mountain at an elevation of more than 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) and safely retreated to a lower camp.

The magnitude-7.8 quake struck at around noon Saturday about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, just over a year after the deadliest avalanche on record hit Everest, killing 16 Sherpa guides on April 18, 2014.

The 2014 deaths occurred at the Icefall, where the edge of the slow-moving glacier is known to crack, cave and send huge chunks of ice tumbling without warning.

More than 4,000 climbers have scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit since 1953, when it was first conquered by New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. The numbers have skyrocketed in recent years, with more than 800 climbers during the 2013 spring season.

___

Sullivan reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle, Didi Tang in Beijing and Karly Domb Sadof in Berlin contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-04-26

[NeverSure]

A huge quake and a real tragedy.

How about getting a couple of C130's in the air with relief supplies and S&R teams ?

There'll be a bunch of that. I heard on the news that the airport is still usable. I hope they are right.

China and India are on either side of it and the US has assets about 4-5 hours away in the Phils and Diego Garcia. There's always a carrier group in the area with a hospital ship, hospital on the carrier and tons of supplies.

There's also this disaster on Mt. Everest to deal with. I don't think it's too high for jet powered choppers at the elevations that have been reported. I hope not.

I hope for the best.

[craigt3365]

Wow. Absolutely horrible. I've done some trekking there and spent time in Kathmandu. They are very poor people. My heart goes out to the survivors. RIP to those who've perished.

I've tried to contact my guide, but no luck so far. Sure hope he and his family are OK.

[dcutman]

A huge quake and a real tragedy.

How about getting a couple of C130's in the air with relief supplies and S&R teams ?

From the OP

India has sent four tons of supplies - food, water, communications systems and other equipment and 40 trained rescue personnel to Nepal and plans to send two more aircraft with medical supplies and doctors, an Indian Defence Ministry spokesman said.

Unfortunately when natural disasters like happen it usually takes days fro S&R teams and supplies to reach the epicenter.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/25/us-quake-nepal-usa-idUSKBN0NG0OX20150425

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-prepares-to-send-emergency-aid-to-nepal-after-massive-quake/

[bdenner]

Coincidentally there was an interesting documentary on TrueVisions Discovery CH 555 this morning "Voyage Of The Continents" based on the prediction of this very disaster and location. Well worth viewing.

[NeverSure]

"Outside Nepal, at least 34 were killed in India, 12 in Tibet and two in Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens died on the Nepal-China border."

Pictures and article.

[Tywais]

Nepal Quake Death Toll Climbs to 1,910

KATHMANDU, Nepal — A Nepal police official says at least 1,910 people have been killed, including at least 721 in Kathmandu, in the immense weekend earthquake centered outside of the capital of the Himalayan nation.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Komal Singh Bam says the death toll is expected to climb.

NYTimes

[Tywais]

‘Google Adventurer’ Dies on Mt. Everest

He was a Google engineer and avid climber who sought to take the company’s Street View project to the world’s tallest mountains.

On Saturday, Dan Fredinburg was at a base camp on Mount Everest when a powerful earthquake in Nepal set off an avalanche. Mr. Fredinburg was killed, Google said in a statement posted on its website.

“Sadly, we lost one of our own in this tragedy,” the statement said. “Dan Fredinburg, a longtime member of the Privacy organization in Mountain View, was in Nepal with three other Googlers, hiking Mount Everest. He has passed away. The other three Googlers with him are safe, and we are working to get them home quickly.”

Shortly before, an Instagram post on Mr. Fredinburg’s account went up: “This is Dan’s little sister Megan,” the message began. “I regret to inform all who loved him that during the avalanche on Everest early this morning our Dan suffered from a major head injury and didn’t make it.”

More here - NYTimes

[Tywais]

How to help victims of the Nepal earthquake

(CNN)A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal with devastating force Saturday, killing more than 1,800 people. As the rescue and recovery efforts get underway, many charities and NGOs are sending teams, essential aid and medical assistance. Here are some of the organizations that you can assist.

Details here CNN

And Crowdrise

[Guest]

There has been a lot of smaller and some larger aftershocks, which will force people to stay out in the tents for some time as return to stone buildings might be too risky. According to BGS these aftershocks will continue for a long time.

Brian Baptie, of the British Geological Survey, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that aftershocks of a magnitude of up to 6.8 - large quakes in their own right - could continue rumbling in the area "for many weeks".

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/aftershocks-rattle-nepal-worst-quake-decades-150426021841317.html

[Lite Beer]

More than 2,000 killed in huge Nepal quake: officials

Kathmandu - The overall death toll from a massive earthquake which devastated large parts of Nepal has passed 2,000, officials in the Himalayan nation and neighbouring countries said Sunday.

National police spokesman Kamal Singh Ban said the number known to have died in Nepal had risen to 1,953 while officials in India said the toll there now stood at 53.

Chinese state media said 17 people had been killed in the Tibet region.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/More-than-2000-killed-in-huge-Nepal-quake-official-30258783.html

-- The Nation 2015-04-26

[Lite Beer]

NEPAL DISASTER
International rescuers, aid dispatched to Nepal quake
Agence France Presse

KATHMANDU: -- International aid groups and governments intensified efforts to get rescuers and supplies into earthquake-hit Nepal on Sunday, but severed communications and landslides in the Himalayan nation posed formidable challenges to the relief effort.

As the death toll neared 2,000, the US together with several European and Asian nations sent emergency crews to reinforce those scrambling to find survivors in the devastated capital Kathmandu and in rural areas cut off by blocked roads and patchy phone networks.

"Roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communication lines are down, preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information," said Jagan Chapagain, Asia Pacific director of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The IFRC said it was extremely concerned about the fate of villages near the epicentre of the quake, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Kathmandu.

"We anticipate that there will be considerable destruction and loss of life," Chapagain added.

Other aid organisations also struggled to assess needs across the nation, and spoke of the fearsome effects of the quake.

"We witnessed terrible scenes of destruction -- hospitals were evacuated with patients being treated on the ground outside, homes and buildings demolished and some roads cracked wide open," said Eleanor Trinchera, Caritas Australia Program Coordinator for Nepal.

A lack of electricity would soon be complicated by a scarcity of water, aid groups said, with medical supplies also dwindling.

Survivors slept in the open in Kathmandu overnight, braving the cold for fear of being crushed by the teetering ruins of buildings.

Hundreds of structures, including office blocks and a landmark nine-storey tower, crashed to the ground at around midday on Saturday when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck.

Meanwhile snowfalls on Saturday thwarted efforts to airlift survivors from an avalanche that hit part of Everest base camp, killing at least 17 people, although choppers started landing on Sunday.



- ’Heartfelt sympathies’ -

==========================



As Nepal awoke to the reality of the devastation, a US disaster response team was already en route and an initial $1 million in aid to address immediate needs had been authorised, the US Agency for International Development said.

Australia and New Zealand together pledged more than $4.5 million, and said they were working to locate hundreds of their citizens believed to be in Nepal.

India dispatched two military transport planes as it emerged that at least 47 people had died there from the effects of the massive quake.

There were similar offers from around the region, including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Taiwan.

China said a 62-member search and rescue team with sniffer dogs was on the ground in Kathmandu, and added that a medical team would be mobilised and work started on an emergency aid plan, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Seventeen people were killed by the earthquake in Tibet, according to Chinese state media.

A Singaporean search and rescue team was also heading for the Himalayan nation, while members of its armed forces would also support the relief efforts with deployment of "suitable resources", the city-state’s government said.

Japan confirmed its own 70-strong emergency services team would leave for Nepal on Sunday, and the European Union said its humanitarian experts were heading to the crisis areas.

"The full extent of the casualties and damage is still unknown but reports indicate they will likely be high, both in terms of loss of life, injuries and damage to cultural heritage," an EU statement said.

- ’Urgent need’ for assistance -

================================



Germany, Britain and Spain also pledged support and assistance, with Norway promising to provide 30 million krone ($3.9 million, 3.5 million euros) in humanitarian aid.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the earthquake was "shocking news" and vowed his country, which swiftly sent a team of humanitarian experts to Nepal, "will do all we can to help those caught up in it".

Israel said it was sending an aid delegation to Nepal, including a team of paramedics and doctors.

Charity Christian Aid launched an appeal for funds and said it was working with partner agencies to reach the worst hit areas.

"It’s clear from what has emerged so far that there is an urgent need for emergency shelters, food and clean drinking water, warm clothing blankets and hygiene kits," said the group’s regional emergency manager Ram Kishan in a statement.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/International-rescuers-aid-dispatched-to-Nepal-qua-30258784.html

-- The Nation 2015-04-26

[Lite Beer]

RT@earthquakeBot: A 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurred 19.26mi SE of Kodari, Nepal. Details: http://t.co/JOdYr3NLm7 Map: http://t.co/ajma2NpHHU

RT@AP: BREAKING: Major aftershock shakes Kathmandu, sending people yelling and running for open ground

RT@geetapandeyBBC: Reports coming in from Nepal of another big quake. We felt it here in delhi too. Went on for close to a minute

RT@SkyNewsBreak: Update - United States Geological Survey says the #Kathmandu region has been hit by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock #NepalEarthquake

[Jingthing]

There will be aftershocks of such a big quake for quite a long time.

Another question is new quakes and knowing if aftershocks are real aftershocks or fresh unrelated quakes.

[Lite Beer]

RT@W7VOA: The latest #NepalQuake aftershock triggered a fresh avalanche on #Everest and shook buildings in New Delhi, #India.

[craigt3365]

Here's a pic from AFP showing the avalanche as it roars into base camp:

[Lite Beer]

RT@AFP: Helicopters airlift injured climbers off Mount Everest, an AFP team at the scene reports http://t.co/xuY47jLBXZ http://t.co/5gnQnVpiUR

[TheFishman1]

Well guess I have to post pone my trip there Mother Nature all ways win

[slipperylobster]

The entire Universe is a danger zone.... including this planet.

With life, as we know it, only existing for a fraction of time... violent weather and violent geological events are actually the norm. Our lives are so short, that we don't see the big picture. Written history is exceptionally short.

Basically, we live on this big piece of rock, spinning around the sun....and we are target practice for anything big enough to make a dent. Not to mention climate, geology, and the fact that the fiery, molten rock in the core of this planet will find it's way out, from time to time.

The surface of the earth is but a thin sheet of rumpled paper on an enormous ball of rock. And the air is just a few miles thick.

Plate tectonics are folding under continents, pushing up mountains.....and causing these massive quakes.

We were created violently...and the earth will come to a violent end, as well.

........That's why I drink.......

[Cuchulainn]

At peace

[sapson]

A natural disaster,very tragic and rip to the victims seemingly 3000 up.

As usual countries rally round and offer their support and practical assistance........all good.

I wonder however at times like this, about the very unnatural disaster we live with year in year out.

Thousands of children who die due to a lack of food,medicine,sanitation and basic education in preservation.

Also the thousands who will die each year, victims of war zones or terrorism, where conflicts are often based on religious indoctrinated hatred.

A country not too far from here has sent supplies to Nepal, yet in its own back yard hundreds of thousands lack basic toilet facilities, adequate medical supplies and food.

It accepts enormous amounts in aid from other countries although has just ordered a batch of fighter jets.

Strange world!

[Robby nz]

I see Thailand is joining in the aid efforts :

BANGKOK, 26 April 2015 (NNT) – The government has launched a donation campaign to mobilize assistance for Nepal; meanwhile, the military and the Ministry of Public Health are prepared to send doctors and disaster response teams to the quake-hit country.

[Mahseer]

Flew out of Kathmandu a week ago and was grateful to get away from the chronic pollution that smothers the place. Truly hard to imagine what it would be like today.

[craigt3365]

Seem Durbar Square is pretty much rubble. Sad as it was such a beautiful place. Glad I got to see it a few times. But like you say, Kathmandu was a difficult city to deal with!