Historic buildings badly damaged during quake. BBC News 4/26/2015.
A massive Himalayan earthquake hit Nepal around noon on Saturday April 25, 2015. This earthquake happened 81 years after the last earthquake in 1934. Nepal’s National Society for Earthquake Technology said that a magnitude-8 (this one was 7.9) earthquake occurs “approximately every 75 years”. Once an earthquake happens, the clock resets for another 75 years. That doesn’t mean that people aren’t shell-shocked by the event. The death toll has been estimated to be more than 2,500 people. Nepalese cremated the dead and continued to dig through the rubble for the missing on Sunday. People are camping outside because they are terrified of the aftershocks and being killed by falling buildings. Some of them are camping because their homes have been destroyed by the earthquake.
Real reactions of people in Nepal. Courtesy of American Red Cross in Nepal. 4/26/2015
The fault line in Nepal makes it prone to destructive earthquakes along with the massive forces involved in tectonic collisions. the Himalayan mountain range raises by about a centimeter a year but the plate jumped about 2 meters on Saturday. Along with the Nepal earthquake, there was an Everest avalanche.
The avalanche struck and swept down between the Khumbu Icefall and the base camp used by international climbing expeditions. Climbers have suggested that some people may have been buried in their tents when the avalanche hit but some of them left on Saturday to look for safer locations. (Telegraph) There have been a reported seventeen people killed by the avalanche. A British Army Captain is climbing Mount Everest and has been in touch with The Telegraph. He relayed to them that he was still feeling the aftershocks as of Sunday morning.
Sunday afternoon, there was a magnitude 6.7 aftershock which sent panicked residents running into the streets. Planeloads of supplies, doctors and relief workers from neighboring countries have begun to arrive to support Nepal. Indiadispatched 13 military aircraft loaned with food, blankets and other items needed to assist their neighboring country. These planes also brought disaster management experts along with medical supplies. Five have landed and the other eight are expected to arrive anytime soon. Sri Lanka has sent aid as well. Relief agencies are scrambling to get supplies including food, water, etc to the country. Facebook has enabled a “safety check” to allow people to mark friends and family as “Okay” if they know they’re alive and well.
American Red Cross in Nepal. 4/26/2015
CNN has taken the time to share several organizations to donate to if people want to assist with the aftermath of this deadly earthquake. They began their lengthy list of NGOs to support with the Nepal Red Cross Society because they are “the epicenter of the relief efforts.” This is also a direct way to help the people of Nepal. (Since they’re located in Nepal, their website is up and down but don’t despair!) If you want to donate but are unable to get to that specific website, the American Red Cross has an option to select “Nepal Earthquake Relief” on their donation page.
