A large magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck Nepal. The epicenter was to the west of Kathmandu, the capital, between Kathmandu and Pokhara, a town popular with trekkers near Mt. Annapurna. The USGS says that it was an unusually shallow earthquake, which isn't good, since shallower earthquakes feel stronger at ground level.
Kathmandu is one of the most historic cities in the world, with many centuries-old buildings standing, giving it a strikingly weird skyline. (I believe that Kathmandu is a UNESCO World Heritage site.) Reports are that some of these heritage buildings have collapsed, including a landmark tower, popular with Western tourists who climb to an observation deck on its eighth story. It's just a huge pile of bricks now, and nobody has any idea how many people were in it when it collapsed.
But people in the city say that many of the old buildings are still standing, which surprises them. This isn't the first large earthquake that Kathmandu has experienced, so the older buildings are rugged survivors of natural selection. A journalist drove from the city to a satellite city a few kilometers away and saw scattered collapsed buildings, but most buildings were still standing. But other reports say that some of the capital's narrow medieval-style streets are completely devastated, impassable piles of rubble. Residents are trying to dig down to buried people with their bare hands. Huge crowds of people are standing around in the streets since everyone ran outside fearing their buildings would collapse on them.
Hospitals are overwhelmed and are doing triage, only accepting some patients and not others. Reporters spoke to a man with a broken arm who was turned away. Hospitals are moving patients out into the open air, due to structural damage to hospital buildings. And the injured flood in, mostly people injured by falling bricks. The confirmed death toll is over 900 and climbing. That's mostly Kathmandu Valley, there probably isn't any word yet from remote villages. The final toll will be much higher.
The Kathmandu international airport is closed to commercial traffic but reports are that Indian Air Force transport aircraft have been landing there carrying relief supplies. The US has pledged help. The British have doubtless done the same, and their embassy in Nepal says that it is trying to contact Britons in Kathmandu.
Reports from Mount Everest say that a big avalanche on the south side of the mountain has severed the route to the top. (The 'icefall' area collapsed.) No word on whether any climbers are trapped near the top or were swept away. A big expedition on the mountain was feared missing, but has radioed in and they are ok. The Everest base-camp was partly destroyed by another avalanche. Everyone is trying to contract everyone else and take stock of who is missing. The Sherpas are understandably worried about their families.
But Everest is well to the east of Kathmandu and the epicenter was to the west, much closer to Annapurna. It's scary to think of what might have happened there. There doesn't seem to be any word, which isn't good.
There are reports of several deaths to the north in Tibet, and at least one to the south in India. (A house collapsed atop a girl in a rural village near the Nepal border.) Reporters in New Delhi say that they distinctly felt the earthquake and were alarmed by it. (New Delhi is maybe 350 miles from Pokhara. That's like LA to San Francisco.)
Kathmandu is one of the most historic cities in the world, with many centuries-old buildings standing, giving it a strikingly weird skyline. (I believe that Kathmandu is a UNESCO World Heritage site.) Reports are that some of these heritage buildings have collapsed, including a landmark tower, popular with Western tourists who climb to an observation deck on its eighth story. It's just a huge pile of bricks now, and nobody has any idea how many people were in it when it collapsed.
But people in the city say that many of the old buildings are still standing, which surprises them. This isn't the first large earthquake that Kathmandu has experienced, so the older buildings are rugged survivors of natural selection. A journalist drove from the city to a satellite city a few kilometers away and saw scattered collapsed buildings, but most buildings were still standing. But other reports say that some of the capital's narrow medieval-style streets are completely devastated, impassable piles of rubble. Residents are trying to dig down to buried people with their bare hands. Huge crowds of people are standing around in the streets since everyone ran outside fearing their buildings would collapse on them.
Hospitals are overwhelmed and are doing triage, only accepting some patients and not others. Reporters spoke to a man with a broken arm who was turned away. Hospitals are moving patients out into the open air, due to structural damage to hospital buildings. And the injured flood in, mostly people injured by falling bricks. The confirmed death toll is over 900 and climbing. That's mostly Kathmandu Valley, there probably isn't any word yet from remote villages. The final toll will be much higher.
The Kathmandu international airport is closed to commercial traffic but reports are that Indian Air Force transport aircraft have been landing there carrying relief supplies. The US has pledged help. The British have doubtless done the same, and their embassy in Nepal says that it is trying to contact Britons in Kathmandu.
Reports from Mount Everest say that a big avalanche on the south side of the mountain has severed the route to the top. (The 'icefall' area collapsed.) No word on whether any climbers are trapped near the top or were swept away. A big expedition on the mountain was feared missing, but has radioed in and they are ok. The Everest base-camp was partly destroyed by another avalanche. Everyone is trying to contract everyone else and take stock of who is missing. The Sherpas are understandably worried about their families.
But Everest is well to the east of Kathmandu and the epicenter was to the west, much closer to Annapurna. It's scary to think of what might have happened there. There doesn't seem to be any word, which isn't good.
There are reports of several deaths to the north in Tibet, and at least one to the south in India. (A house collapsed atop a girl in a rural village near the Nepal border.) Reporters in New Delhi say that they distinctly felt the earthquake and were alarmed by it. (New Delhi is maybe 350 miles from Pokhara. That's like LA to San Francisco.)