Described by disaster specialists as the scenario that keeps them awake at night, a major earthquake hitting Nepal’s heavily-populated Kathmandu valley has long been anticipated – and dreaded.
Yesterday’s earthquake has already claimed over a thousand lives on the first day of the disaster. Experts fear the death toll will rise.
The massive trembler measured 7.8 on the Richter scale according to the United States Geological Survey.
A police official said the death toll in Nepal alone had reached around 1,500 at about 1:30am [BST] today, more than half of them in the Kathmandu Valley, agencies report.
Nepal’s National Society for Earthquake Technology previously estimated that a large-scale earthquake in mid-Nepal could displace over 1.8 million people, kill over 100,000 and injure a further 300,000.
The Himalayan nation which straddles the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates was hit by the earthquake at 6:11 UTC. Shock waves convulsed neighbouring India, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Reuters reported.
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate statements expressed deep shock at the loss of lives in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and other parts of the region. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also expressed deep shock at the huge loss of lives and property.
Bangladesh will send humanitarian assistance, including medical teams and medicine, to work with the Nepalese government in assisting the affected people there, said a Foreign Ministry statement.
Besides, Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal opened a helpdesk for its nationals living in the country soon after the strong tremor jolted the Himalayan country.
However, no Bangladesh nationals have so far been reported to be injured or killed in the quake, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Bangladesh nationals have been asked to contact Ambassador Mashfee Binte Shams +9779851039352, Khan M Moinul Hossen +977 980818401402 and Shamima Choudhury +9779808765071 for any support.
The tremor was felt as far away as Pakistan and Tibet, according the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which is gearing up for a response to the disaster.
Thirty-six fatalities were reported in northern India, 12 in Chinese Tibet and three in Bangladesh.
Tremors felt in Dhaka and New Delhi were reported to have lasted up to a minute.
The quake sent waves of fear and panic across northern South Asia, leaving hundreds dead, toppling a 19th-century tower in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and touching off a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.
As search and rescue efforts continue, hospitals in the Nepalese capital continue to function but are stretched to capacity, the IFRC reported.
Powerful aftershocks continued to be felt after the main quake, causing a risk of further damage to buildings and increasing the climate of fear among the population, many of whom are fearful of returning to their home, the IFRC reported on the situation in Kathmandu.
The earthquake’s epicentre was 80km east of Kathmandu in Lamjung, Gorkha district, the US Geological Survey said.
Most of the casualties reported are in the Kathmandu valley where buildings, including the historic Darahara Tower, have collapsed in densely populated areas.
“We are extremely concerned about the fate of communities in towns and villages in rural areas closer to the epicentre,” said Jagan Chapagain, the IFRC’s Director for Asia Pacific. “Access roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communications lines are down preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information. We anticipate that there will be considerable destruction and loss of life.”
The international disaster response organisation said it was releasing funds from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund to support the initial emergency response.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dispatched a military air transporter with three tonnes of supplies and a 40-strong disaster response team to Nepal. Three more planes were to follow, carrying a mobile hospital and further relief teams.
But international assistance is currently hindered by the closure of the Kathmandu airport.
“We do not yet know the scope of damage, but no doubt this is the most deadly and devastating earthquake since the 1934 tremor which devastated Nepal and Bihar,” Chapagain said.
Nepal, sandwiched between India and China, has had its share of natural disasters. Its worst earthquake in 1934 killed more than 8,500 people. There were reports of devastation in outlying, isolated mountainous areas after the midday quake of magnitude 7.8, Nepal’s worst in 81 years, centred 50 miles (80 km) east of the second city, Pokhara.
A collapse in communications hampered relief efforts, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster across the impoverished Himalayan nation of 28 million people.
The quake was more destructive for being shallow, toppling buildings and opening gaping cracks in roads.
Tourists in trouble
Indian tourist Devyani Pant was in a Kathmandu coffee shop with friends when “suddenly the tables started trembling and paintings on the wall fell on the ground.
“I screamed and rushed outside,” she told Reuters by telephone from the capital.
“We are now collecting bodies and rushing the injured to the ambulance. We are being forced to pile several bodies one above the other to fit them in.”
A tourism official said at least 10 people were killed when an avalanche unleashed by the earthquake swept through the Everest base camp, where more than 1,000 climbers had gathered at the start of the annual climbing season.
Choti Sherpa, who works at the Everest Summiteers Association, was unable to call her family and colleagues on the mountain. “Everyone is trying to contact each other, but we cannot,” she said. “We are all very worried.”
A second tourism official, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, said it was “hard to even assess what the death toll and the extent of damage” around Everest could be.
Around 300,000 foreign tourists were estimated to be in various parts of Nepal for the spring trekking and climbing season in the Himalayas, and officials were overwhelmed by calls from concerned friends and relatives.
Political instability does little to boost Nepal’s resilience; it has still not upgraded its weather forecasting system despite being surprised by unseasonal blizzards last autumn that killed 32 in the Annapurna massif.
In 2001, Nepal burst into global headlines when the crown prince, Dipendra, gunned down 10 members of his family, including his father, King Birendra Shah, before killing himself.
A Maoist rebellion subsequently transformed the kingdom into a republican democracy and abolished the monarchy altogether in 2008. A new constitution has yet to be agreed, however.
Tower toppled
Among the Kathmandu landmarks destroyed by the quake was the 60-metre-high (100-foot) Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal, with a viewing balcony that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years.
A jagged stump just 10 metres high was all that was left of the lighthouse-like structure. As bodies were extracted from the ruins, a policeman said up to 200 people had been trapped inside.
At the main hospital in Kathmandu, volunteers formed human chains to clear the way for ambulances to bring in the injured.
Across the city, rescuers scrabbled through the rubble of destroyed buildings, among them ancient, wooden Hindu temples.
“I can see three bodies of monks trapped in the debris of a collapsed building near a monastery,” said Devyani, the tourist.
With aftershocks continuing throughout the afternoon, many residents chose to stay out in the streets.
Everest avalanche
The Everest avalanches, first reported by climbers, raised fears for those on the world’s loftiest peak a year after a massive snow slide killed 16 Nepali guides just above base camp.
Romanian climber Alex Gavan tweeted that there had been a “huge avalanche” and “many, many” people were up on the mountain. “Running for life from my tent,” Gavan said. “Everest base camp huge earthquake then huge avalanche.”
Another climber, Daniel Mazur, said the base camp had been severely damaged and his team were trapped.
“Please pray for everyone,” he tweeted.
