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5 things to know about the latest Nepal earthquake

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The death toll continues to rise after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake rocked mountainous Nepal on Saturday. The quake destroyed homes and centuries-old temples. Neighboring countries also felt shocks and reported casualties.
It’s the country’s worst in 80 years.
Here are five things to know about the tragedy:
Death Toll
More than 2,500 deaths have been confirmed, and the death toll is expected to rise. At least 18 were killed and 61 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, at least 61 were killed in India and several deaths were reported in Tibet and Bangladesh. At least four Chinese citizens were killed during the quake, according to media reports citing the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.
Location
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.
Size
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.

nepal-earthquake

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Damage
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.
What now?
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.
Nepal quake hits already fragile tourism industry
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.
-USA Today

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0 Comments

  1. damizzle!!

    April 27, 2015 at 8:03 am

    omg and Nigerians are here complaining about light and traffic,we have the least of worries..

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