Wiped off the map: Startling images from Nepal earthquake epicenter reveal entire hillside villages have been decimated
- Entire hillside villages in the Gorkha region of the country have been flattened by Saturdays earthquake
- The scale of disaster was seen in capital city Kathmandu whose historic temples were reduced to rubble by quake
- Bodies of thousands of people buried alive in their homes have been laid in the street by their hysterical relatives
- Rescue teams are frantically using their hands to dig out survivors as aid relief from neighbouring India arrived
- As many as 18 people climbers on Mount Everest were killed when base camp was swallowed by avalanche
Published: 07:48 EST, 26 April 2015 | Updated: 15:05 EST, 26 April 2015
Dramatic aerial
photographs taken just miles from the epicenter of Saturday's Nepal
earthquake in Gorkha reveal entire villages reduced to rubble and
flattened by mudslides.
Already
the number of dead reported in the western region has reached 47, but
officials estimate the death toll will rise considerably, possibly
hitting 10,000 as the nation picks up the pieces from the powerful
quake.
Indeed,
across the rubble-strewn country, survivors and rescue teams are
battling to find the missing amid now-ruined and collapsed historic
buildings, while the international community sends aid as fast as it can
to the mountainous country.
Destroyed: These pictures posted
to the account of the ex-Nepalese Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai
show an entire village has been reduced to rubble in the Gorkha region
of the country
Flattened: Rescuers are now
rushing to the rubble to find survivors and bring relief and mountainous
region in Nepal which has been badly affected by Saturday's earthquake
Remote beauty: Dr. Baburam Bhattarai flew over this valley in Gorkha and witnessed the destruction caused by the huge earthquake
The
full horror of the Nepalese earthquake which has so far claimed 2,500
lives and injured nearly 6,000 unfolded this morning in the towns of the
Kathmandu Valley which have been reduced to rubble.
Scarcely
covered by white sheets, the bodies of those buried alive in their
homes have been laid in the street. Overrun by the escalating disaster
and in fear of any deadly aftershocks which could collapse yet more
buildings, hospital staff have begun treating the wounded outside.
Frantic
rescuers were seen using their hands to dig through the debris this
morning as the death toll crept up to 2,200 across four countries.
Hundreds
are still missing, chief among them climbers stranded on Mount Everest
after an avalanche sparked by the tremor buried its base camp on
Saturday afternoon.
In
Kathmandu, survivors told of the terrifying moment the earthquake's
aftershock struck this morning. Appealing to the international community
via social media, they begged for blood and care packages to sustain
the remaining population.
Much
of the capital city, which has a population of almost 1.2 million, has
been blocked off by tens of thousands of people sleeping in shelters and
on the streets.
For
the dead, makeshift pyres have been erected in fields and public parks.
Their corpses have been left on the ground with grieving mothers
gathering around them.
Before and after the earthquake:
The combo photo shows a ceremony held in Durbar square in Kathmandu to
celebrate Indrajatra Festival in 2013 (above) and people gathering
around a collapsed building after an earthquake in Durbar square in
Patan, Nepal on Sunday
Startling: The combo photo shows
Nepalese devotees participating in a procession of chariots of god and
goddess Ganesh, Kumari and Bhairav during the last day of Indrajatra
festival at Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2013 (above) and the
ruins on the Durbar Square after an earthquake in Patan, Nepal
Historic The combo photo shows
Dharahara before and after the earthquake in Nepal when an earthquake
struck the mountainous country and claimed upwards of 10,000 lives
Rescue workers remove debris as
they search for victims of the earthquake in the city of Bhaktapur found
in the east of the Kathmandu Valley
The bodies of the victims are
laid out in line outside a hospital in central Kathmandu in the wake of
the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that his the area on Saturday morning
Grieving women hold the hands of
relatives as they lie beneath a thin white sheet in the city of
Kathmandu. Makeshift funeral pyres are being set up across the city
The bodies of some of the
thousands who have died in the disaster were laid outside the emergency
ward at Bir Hospital in the Nepalese capital
In Bhaktapur, flowers and money
are left on the body of one of the earthquake's victims outside one of
the city's overrun hospitals
The body of a child is left
beside a note underneath a brick on a grassy area outside one of the
hospitals in Bhaktapur. On Sunday the death toll crept to 2,200 with yet
more people feared to have died in the disaster
Mourners begin preparing a
funeral pyre in a public park in the city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu
Valley, as the bodies of those killed in the earthquake pile up
The relatives of those still not heard from began arriving on Sunday alongside much needed relief from neighbouring countries.
A
US disaster response team was en route and an initial $1million in aid
to address immediate needs had been authorised, the US Agency for
International Development said.
A
spokesman for the government agency said: 'Our thoughts are with the
people of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh in the aftermath of the magnitude
7.8 earthquake that struck central Nepal today, affecting more than 6.6
million people and causing widespread damage and destruction.
'USAID
is deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the region
and is providing an initial $1 million in emergency assistance as we
assess humanitarian needs in cooperation with the Government of Nepal.
USAID is also activating an Urban Search and Rescue Team to accompany
disaster experts.
'The
earthquake, which hit just northwest of Nepal's densely populated
capital, Kathmandu, has caused numerous buildings to collapse and made
some roads impassable.
'It
also triggered an avalanche in the Mount Everest region and aftershocks
of a considerable magnitude. In addition to the DART, USAID staff based
in Bangkok, Thailand and Washington, D.C. are monitoring the situation
closely in coordination with U.S. mission disaster relief officers in
the region.
'The
American people have a proud and generous history of providing help
during times of crisis. USAID remains committed to helping the people of
Nepal and the region during this difficult time.
India
flew in medical supplies and relief crews, while China sent in a
60-strong emergency team. Relief agencies said hospitals in the
Kathmandu Valley were overflowing and running out of medical supplies.
Australia
and New Zealand together pledged more than $4.5 million, and said they
were working to locate hundreds of their citizens believed to be in
Nepal, and South Korea promised $1 million in humanitarian aid.
In
the capital, hospital workers stretchered patients out onto the street
to treat them as it was too dangerous to keep them indoors. The
aftershock rocked buildings in the Indian capital New Delhi and halted
the city metro.
Some
buildings in Kathmandu toppled like houses of cards, others leaned at
precarious angles, and partial collapses exposed living rooms and
furniture in place and belongings stacked on shelves.
A man walks through the ruins of
one of the city's famous temples at Durbar Square in Patan as the city
reels from the devastating earthquake
A man surveys the destruction at
his home in Bhaktapur, a historic city in the east of the Kathmandu
valley where hundreds of homes were destroyed
An elderly woman is accompanied
through the street in the Bhaktapur after undergoing treatment for a
head injury at one of its remaining hospitals
In Bhaktapur, a man weeps as he
is pulled away from the site where his house once stood. The Kathmandu
Valley is densely populated, with thousands living in close conditions
Aid workers use their hands to
dig bricks from piles of rubble in Bhaktapur as more relief arrives from
neighbouring countries on Sunday
Women cry for loved ones killed
in the disaster at a make-shift camp set up in a public park in
Bhaktapur. Funeral pyres have been set up across the country in the
streets
The wounded are treated outside
of Bir Hospital in the capital city of Kathmandu with medics from
volunteering charities expected to arrive
Rescuers,
some wearing face masks to keep out the dust, scrambled over mounds of
splintered timber and broken bricks in the hope of finding survivors.
Some used their bare hands to fill small white buckets with dirt and
rock.
Thousands
of people spent the night outside in chilly temperatures and patchy
rain, too afraid to return to their damaged homes or sleep indoors for
fear of another tremor.
On
Sunday, survivors wandered the streets clutching bed rolls and
blankets, while others sat in the street cradling their children,
surrounded by a few plastic bags of belongings.
Army
officer Santosh Nepal and a group of rescuers worked all night to open a
passage into a collapsed building in Kathmandu. They had to use pick
axes because bulldozers could not get through the ancient city's narrow
streets.
'We
believe there are still people trapped inside,' he said, pointing at
concrete debris and twisted reinforcement rods where a three-storey
residential building once stood.
Rescuers find survivors of Nepal earthquake buried in rubble
Survivors inspect a crack in the
road left in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the wake of the earthquake which has
claimed more than 2,500 lives
Men ease their way around the
ruins of homes in Bhaktapur, scouring the site for any survivors. The
death toll is expected to rise yet from 2,500
In Bhaktapur, a Buddha survived
when the rest of the temple collapsed. Many of the country's temples -
which attract thousands in tourism every year - were destroyed
Police carry the body of another
victim through the rubble-strewn streets of Bhaktapur. The earthquake is
the worst disaster the country has seen for more than 80 years
In the capital city, thousands
are camping in the streets for fear of more tremors from the
earthquake's aftershock. This morning it measured 6.9 on the Richter
Scale
A small child takes shelter at a
makeshift camp site where scores are gathering in fear of more
devastation in the capital city of Kathmandu
AS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 2,500 IN 24 HOURS... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT FOR DISASTER STRUCK NEPAL?
With
the death toll steadily creeping up (to 2,500 on Sunday), the full
extent of the horror brought by the earthquake is slowly unfolding.
As
rescuers scramble to save stranded climbers on Mount Everest where 18
died under avalanches yesterday, experts are warning the worst of the
disaster is to come.
Aftershocks rocked the Himalayan country this morning with residents describing the tremors in terrifying detail.
One registered 6.9 on the Richter Scale and is feared to have triggered yet more avalanches on Everest.
While
the original earthquake's magnitude - 7.9 - labelled it a 'major'
incident, it struck just 11km underground, making its effects all the
more devastating.
Coupled
with that is its lack of preparation for such destructive tremors. A
relatively poor country, its buildings are shoddily constructed and
easily torn down.
Experts also fear the earthquake's shallowness could have sparked landslides across the mountainous region.
Among
the capital's landmarks destroyed in the earthquake was the 200-foot
Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal, with a viewing
balcony that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years.
A
jagged stump was all that was left of the lighthouse-like structure. As
bodies were pulled from the ruins on Saturday, a policeman said up to
200 people had been trapped inside.
Bodies
were still arriving on Sunday at one hospital where police officer
Sudan Shreshtha said his team had brought 166 corpses overnight.
'Both
private and government hospitals have run out of space and are treating
patients outside, in the open,' said Nepal's envoy to India, Deep Kumar
Upadhyay. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is back from abroad and will
soon address the country.
Save
the Children's Peter Olyle said hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley were
running out of storage room for bodies and emergency supplies. 'There is
a need for a government decision on bringing in kits from the
military,' he said from Kathmandu.
Some
56 people were reported killed in neighbouring India, which has sent
military aircraft to Nepal with medical equipment and relief teams. It
also said it had dispatched 285 members of its National Disaster
Response Force.
In
Tibet, the death toll climbed to 17, according to a tweet from China's
state news agency, Xinhua. Four people were killed in Bangladesh.
Pakistan's
military is sending four C-130 aircraft with a 30-bed hospital, search
and rescue teams and relief supplies, the army said.
Roads
to Gorkha district, the site of the epicentre, were blocked by
landslides, hindering rescue teams, chief district official Prakash
Subedi said. Teams were trekking on foot through mountain trails to
reach remote villages, and helicopters would also be deployed, he said.
Mukesh
Kafle, head of Nepal Electricity Authority, said power had been
restored to the main government office, the airport and hospitals. But
the damage to the electricity cables and poles was making it difficult
to restore power across many parts of the country.
'We
have to make sure all cables are secure before turning the power on.
Our technicians have been working round the clock to restore power to
the people,' he said.
Up to 18 people are feared to
have died on Mount Everest after being buried by an avalanche that was
triggered by the earthquake yesterday. Above, rescue helicopters return
to base camp to collect remaining survivors
The United States Geological
Survey said the quake struck 81 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of
Kathmandu at 06.11 GMT, with walls crumbling and families racing outside
of their homes
A
rescue operation in the Kalanki neighbourhood of Kathmandu saw police
rescuers tried to extricate a man lying under a dead person, crushed by a
pile of concrete slabs and iron beams, as his family members watched on
in horror.
GOOGLE RELAUNCH 'PERSON FINDER' IN AFTERMATH OF DISASTER
Google have relaunched their 'person finder' tool to help those affected by the earthquake in Nepal.
The tool is a searchable, online database to help people track down their loved ones who are involved in the disaster.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which killed hundreds and destroyed homes, also damaged communications in the region.
Person Finder collates information from emergency responders and individuals who post details about relatives missing or found.
Within hours of the disaster, 200 names had been uploaded.
The
tool was first launched in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti,
and has been used in several major disasters ever since including the
2011 Japanese tsunami and 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
'We
are digging the debris around him, cutting through concrete and iron
beams. We will be able to pull him out but his body under his waist is
totally crushed. He is still alive and crying for help. We are going to
save him,' said police officer Suresh Rai.
Officials
in India said the death toll there now stood at 53. Chinese state media
said 17 people had been killed in the Tibet region.
The
earthquake has also triggered a massive avalanche on Mount Everest
killing 18 and injuring at least 30. Several groups of climbers were
also said to be trapped at base camp which was severely damaged.
Panicked
residents had rushed into the streets as the tremor erupted with the
impact felt hundreds of miles away in big swathes of northern India and
even in Bangladesh.
President Barrack Obama has been briefed on the situation but is yet to release a full statement.
Secretary
of State John Kerry said: 'I join the people of the United States in
expressing our deepest condolences to all of those affected by today's
earthquake in Nepal, including the families of those who died in Nepal,
India, and Bangladesh.
'We
are working closely with the government of Nepal to provide assistance
and support. Ambassador Bodde has issued a disaster declaration in order
to immediately release an initial $1 million for humanitarian
assistance.
'USAID
is preparing to deploy a Disaster Assistance Response Team and is
activating an Urban Search and Rescue Team to accompany disaster experts
and assist with assessments of the situation.
'To
the people in Nepal and the region affected by this tragedy we send our
heartfelt sympathies. The United States stands with you during this
difficult time.'
British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged that the UK would do all it can to help in the aftermath on the Nepal earthquake.
On Twitter he said: 'Shocking news about the earthquake in Nepal - the UK will do all we can to help those caught up in it.'
Yesterday Vim
Tamang, a resident of Manglung village near the epicentre, said: 'Our
village has been almost wiped out. Most of the houses are either buried
by landslide or damaged by shaking.'All the villagers have gathered in
the open area. We don't know what to do. We are feeling helpless.'
A
terrified Kathmandu resident said: 'Everything started shaking.
Everything fell down. The walls around the main road have collapsed. The
national stadiums gates have collapsed,' Kathmandu resident Anupa
Shrestha said.
Indian
tourist Devyani Pant was in a Kathmandu coffee shop with friends when
'suddenly the tables started trembling and paintings on the wall fell on
the ground.
Before and after: The Dharahara
Tower, one of Kathmandu's landmarks built by Nepal's royal rulers in the
1800s was reduced to rubble when the earthquake struck yesterday
morning
People inspect the damage of the
collapsed landmark Dharahara, also called Bhimsen Tower, after an
earthquake caused serious damage in the capital city
A survivor is pulled from the
rubble of a collapsed building in Kathmandu yesterday shortly after the
earthquake struck at around noon
The
quake's epicentre was 50 miles north-west of Kathmandu and it had a
depth of only seven miles, which is considered shallow in geological
terms. The shallower the quake, the more destructive power it carries,
and witnesses said the trembling and swaying of the earth went on for
several minutes.
National radio warned people to stay outdoors and maintain calm because more aftershocks were feared.
A
6.6-magnitude aftershock hit about an hour after the initial quake. But
smaller aftershocks continued to arrive every few minutes and residents
reported of the ground feeling unstable.
People
gathered outside Kathmandu's Norvic International Hospital where
doctors and nurses had hooked up some patients to IV drops in the car
park or were giving people oxygen.
A
Swedish woman, Jenny Adhikari, who lives in Nepal, told the Swedish
newspaper Aftonbladet that she was riding a bus in the town of Melamchi
when the earth began to move.
'A huge stone crashed only about 20 metres from the bus,' she was quoted as saying.
'All
the houses around me have tumbled down. I think there are lot of people
who have died,' she told the newspaper by telephone. Melamchi is about
30 miles north-east of Kathmandu.
The
earthquake also shook several cities across northern India and was felt
as far away as Lahore in Pakistan and Lhasa in Tibet, 340 miles east of
Kathmandu and India's capital of New Delhi. The Indian cities of
Lucknow in the north and Patna in the east also reported strong
tremors.
In Siliguri, India, where at
least two people including a woman were killed, the front of an
earthquake-damaged house was trapped in wiring and the branches of a
tree
A collapsed house in Nyelam
County in Shigatse, Tibet (left) while a man looks through the ruble of a
similarly damaged building in Kathmandu
As well as leveling many of
Kathmandu's homes and structures, the quake also left a dust pall over
the valley, doctors and witnesses said
People search for survivors under
the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kathmandu Durbar Square yesterday
in the immediate aftermath
Rescue teams and tractors clear
the rubble of collapsed buildings, crumbled temples and broken walls in
the famous square yesterday.
