A powerful earthquake struck Nepal Saturday, killing at least 1,180
people across a swath of four countries as the violently shaking earth
collapsed houses, leveled centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches
on Mt. Everest. It was the worst tremor to hit the poor South Asian
nation in over 80 years.At least 1,130 people were confirmed dead across Nepal, according to the
police. Another 34 were killed in India, 12 in Tibet and two in
Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens died in the Nepal-China border. The
death toll is almost certain to rise, said deputy Inspector General of
Police Komal Singh Bam.
It was a few minutes before noon
when the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8, began to rumble
across the densely populated Kathmandu Valley, rippling through the
capital Kathmandu and spreading in all directions -- north toward the
Himalayas and Tibet, south to the Indo-Gangetic plains, east toward the
Brahmaputra delta of Bangladesh and west toward the historical city of
Lahore in Pakistan.
Shrish Vaidya, a businessman, was with his family in his two-story house on the outskirts of Kathmandu, when the quake struck.
"It
is hard to describe. The house was shaking like crazy. We ran out and
it seemed like the road was heaving up and down," he told The Associated
Press. "I don't remember anything like this before. Even my parents
can't remember anything this bad."
A
magnitude-6.6 aftershock hit about an hour later, and at least 16
aftershocks continued to jolt the region for hours. Residents ran out
of homes and buildings in panic. Walls tumbled, trees swayed, power
lines came crashing down and large cracks opened up on streets and
walls. And clouds of dust began to swirl all around.
Source : http://news.yahoo.com/strong-earthquake-felt-nepals-capital-063242616.html
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