More than 3,300 deaths have been confirmed, and the death toll is
expected to rise. At least 18 were killed and dozens more were injured
on Mount Everest, where the quake launched an avalanche. Dozens if not
hundreds remain trapped under mounds of rubble. The nation's capital of
Katmandu was particularly hard hit.Outside Nepal, a total of at least 61
died in India, Bangladesh, China's region of Tibet and Pakistan. The
quake struck before noon local time about 50 miles northwest of Katmandu
in an area that the U.S. Geological Survey calls one of the most
seismically hazardous regions on Earth. It was felt as far away as
Lahore, Pakistan; Lhasa, Tibet; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Multiple
aftershocks, including one registered at magnitude-6.7, followed. The
quake registered as a magnitude-7.8. Although on a major plate boundary
with a history of large- to great-sized earthquakes, large earthquakes
in this area are rare in the documented historical era, the U.S.
Geological Survey reports. Over the past century, just four events of
magnitude-6.0 or larger have occurred within about 150 miles of
Saturday's earthquake. An earthquake's power increases by 10 times with
each increase in the number of its scale. That means Saturday's
earthquake — the same magnitude as the one that hit San Francisco in
1906 — was 22 times more powerful than the 7.0 quake that devastated
Haiti in 2010. A number of buildings collapsed in the center of the
capital, the ancient Old Kathmandu, including centuries-old temples and
towers. Among them was the Dharahara Tower, one of Katmandu's landmarks
built by Nepal's royal rulers in the 1800s and a UNESCO-recognized
historical monument. It was reduced to rubble and there were reports of
people trapped underneath. The Katmandu Valley is densely populated with
nearly 2.5 million people, and the quality of buildings is often poor.
It will be awhile before we know the full extent of the damage and the
final death toll. At least 29 districts have been designated as crisis
zones. Hospitals in the capital have been overwhelmed. About 90% of the
1,000 homes in the villages of Laprak and Barpak near the epicenter were
destroyed. The quake will likely put a huge strain on the resources of
Nepal, a poor country best known for Everest. The nation is highly
dependent on tourism. More avalanches are likely on Everest and it's
unclear how those stranded on the mountain will be evacuated to safety.
Numerous countries around the world have pledged immediate aid and
supplies. Humanitarian groups such as the Red Cross, Oxfam, CARE and
Save the Children are working to provide shelter, clean water,
sanitation and emergency food supplies. You can also help by
contributing to one of a number of aid groups.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-earthquake-things-to-know/26367507/
