Thirty-nine of 75 districts are reported to be affected by the earthquake
Five days after a powerful earthquake struck Nepal and brought thousands of structures crashing down on people, 15-year-old Pema Lamba was rescued alive from under the rubble in Kathmandu on Wednesday. The teenager survived by eating (clarified butter) ghee and drinking water dripping from wet clothes, BBC reported.
Power is reaching only some parts of the capital city. Thousands of people are still sleeping in the open
Author: DTE Staff
The death toll in the Nepal earthquake crossed the 5,000-mark on Tuesday, according to official figures. More than 8,000 people have been injured in the tragedy and the figure is rising as more and more people are being rescued from various quake-hit districts across the country, news reports say. In Kathmandu, the latest injury figure stands at 2,400 followed by Bhaktapur (1,886) and Lalitpur (1,090) districts.
Social media has redefined communication and made it even better, especially during emergencies
Author: Vijdan Saleem
As Nepal experienced its worst earthquake in more than 80 years which killed more than 4,800 people, Facebook activated its special feature-Safety Check-which helped friends and families locate their near and dear ones.
Survivors are in immediate need of food, safe water and medical supplies
Author:DTE Staff
As rescue workers continued to look for survivors buried under the rubble, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters that the death toll in Saturday's deadly earthquake could reach 10,000. Almost 4,350 people have been killed and more than 7,000 injured, according to latest information from the Nepal government.
Implementing seismic codes while constructing buildings will help save several lives in our earthquake-prone cities
Author: Avikal Somvanshi
What do Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have in common with Kathmandu? Seismologists believe these Indian mega cities are likely to be rattled by a major earthquake in the near future. Even if the intensity of such an earthquake is lower than the one that razed the Himalayan nation’s capital, the magnitude of devastation could be manifold. Reason? Earthquakes don’t kill, buildings do.
According to National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) 2014 report on “Seismic Retrofitting of Deficient Buildings and Structures”, more than 25,000 people were killed in building collapses during earthquakes in the last 25 years. The report also points out that the condition and quality of Indian building stock is very poor when it comes to seismic performance.
The condition and quality of Indian building stock is poor when it comes to seismic performance. In Delhi, almost 80 per cent of buildings violate regulations, says CSE
Author: DTE Staff
Earthquakes don't kill, buildings do. Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has pointed out the systemic issues that result in construction of unsafe buildings. Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE's executive director for research and advocacy and head of its "green buildings" programme, says the lack of regulations for construction and monitoring of buildings makes a huge proportion of them unsafe.
According to UNICEF, at least 94,000 children are currently living in areas severely affected by the earthquake
Author: Kundan Pandey
Nearly 100,000 children in Nepal are in dire need of humanitarian assistance following the destructive earthquake, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The UN agency has estimated that at least 94,000 children are currently living in areas severely affected by the earthquake which struck Nepal on Saturday.
Census data shows Bihar among the three states with lowest proportion of houses which can be categorised 'good'
Author: Anupam Srivastava
What made Bihar vulnerable to the Nepal earthquake and led to the reported deaths of 38 persons in the state? Proximity to Nepal and, therefore, the epicenter is certainly a primary reason. The other major reason is the condition of houses in the state. Almost all the deaths due to an earthquake are caused by the collapse of buildings. The condition of houses, therefore, is a key determinant of whether people survive or fall victim to an earthquake. Former National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Member, Vinod Menon, says that as many as 61 per cent of houses in rural India have been built without following engineering guidelines. “These are un-engineered houses which have been built using local knowledge, customs and material. They do not follow any safety regulations,” he said.
Reason for much of the devastation following the April 25 earthquake was poor quality construction
Author: Vibha Varshney
Tremor of magnitude 6.7 experienced in northern and eastern India; Met department asks people to act with extreme caution
Author: Kundan Pandey
As operations to rescue people trapped under building debris following the Saturday earthquake get under way in Nepal, parts of India and Nepal experienced fresh tremors again at around 1 pm. The magnitude of the tremor, which had its epicenter in Nepal, was 6.7 on the Richter scale, as per US Geological Survey.
Along with Nepal, the tremors were felt in Delhi, parts of north India, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur.
The toll may further rise as several bodies are still feared trapped under the rubble. US, India offer financial aid to Nepal
Author: Kundan Pandey
The Nepal earthquake death toll climbed to approximately 2,000, with rescue and relief operations going on in full swing. The toll may further rise as several bodies are still feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Tibet and India are also trying to assess the damage even though the intensity of the quake was much less in these two countries.
Unplanned growth despite the region being quake-prone led to massive destruction
Author: Richard Mahapatra
Every year Nepal observes January 16 as National Earthquake Safety Day. It is ussually a sober occasion when some non-government organisations and a few government departments take out a rally and circulate leaflets on safety measures. But there was never a public acceptance that a great earthquake of the 1934 magnitude would strike.
Death toll in Himalayan nation crosses 150; casualties reported in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India
Author: Kundan Pandey
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck Nepal, 77 km from Kathmandu, on Saturday. Over 150 people have died, according to initial reports, and the toll is likely to increase as the scale of the damage unfolds. It is the worst earthquake in the Himalayan state in 80 years.
Violent to severe tremors were experienced in the northern and eastern parts India also. Three persons in Bihar and two in Uttar Pradesh were killed in the earthquake, according to reports. The epicenter of the earthquake was Lamjun, 77 km from Kathmandu. Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim and West Bengal were the most impacted states in India. Tremors were felt in Delhi, Rajasthan and some part of Madhya Pradesh as well.
Senior journalist based in Kathmandu, Rajesh Ghimire, reports the extent of damage sustained by the capital following the earthquake
Author: Rajesh Ghimire
After the initial earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on the Richter scale, Kathmandu was hit by at least five weaker aftershocks. Many buildings in the capital have collapsed and most structures have suffered some form of damage, either moderate or severe. Many parts of the city are enveloped in a cloud of dust from the collapse of buildings.
Present earthquake the biggest to hit Nepal in 80 years
Next recorded big earthquake after 1255 AD was during the reign of King Jayadev Malla. Many buildings and temples collapsed and many more were severely damaged. Although the exact number of fatalities cannot be confirmed, it said there was heavy loss of life because of the earthquake and the subsequent epidemic and famine.
Districts in Kosi belt, closest to Nepal, bear the brunt of tremors arising from Himalayan nation
Author: Alok Gupta
At least 12 people have died and 80 were injured in different parts of Bihar which experienced shock tremors of the earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday morning.
Some of districts, including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Kaimur and Dharbhanga, were hit by tremors twice within an interval of 10 minutes, triggering panic. Four persons died in Motihari and Sitamarhi, three died in Darbhanga and one in Hajipur.
As authorities assess damage and loss of life in Kathmandu, details trickle in from areas surrounding Mount Everest
Author: DTE Staff
Destruction, panic in Kathmandu
Guna Raj Luitel, whose Twitter bio says he is a journalist working in Kathmandu, has tweeted this picture.
Interactive map
A list of the worst earthquakes in the world occurs since 1900
Around 3,617 people have died and over 6,500 people have been injured in Nepal, according to BBC, with rescue and relief operations going on in full swing. The toll may further rise as bodies are still feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Tibet and India are also trying to assess the damage even though the intensity of the quake was much less in these two countries. Here is a list of the worst earthquakes in the world occurs since 1900, both in the number of deaths and magnitude, to give you an idea of the amount of havoc they have caused. - See more at: http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/media/iep/infographics/Earthquake.html#sthash.RR3XloW8.dpuf
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