7.9 quake in Nepal

[cosmicalstorm]

Happened a few hours ago. From what I can tell it looks pretty bad.

A powerful earthquake has rocked Nepal, wrecking buildings, injuring dozens of people and causing an unknown number of deaths, eyewitnesses say.

The quake measured 7.9 and struck an area between the capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara, the US Geological Survey said.

Tremors were felt across the region, as far afield as Pakistan, Bangladesh and neighbouring India.

A Nepali minister said there had been "massive damage" at the epicentre.

"We need support from the various international agencies which are more knowledgeable and equipped to handle the kind of emergency we face now," Information Minister Minendra Rijal.

Several buildings, including the landmark Dharahara tower, were reduced to rubble in Kathmandu.

The tower was turned into a stump, with several feared dead among its ruins.

Injured people have been brought to the main hospital. Reuters news agency put the initial death toll at four, including casualties at the tower.

After the earthquake struck, concerned residents came out into the streets. Mobile phones and other communications have been disrupted.

"It was very scary. The earth was moving... I am waiting for treatment but the [hospital] staff are overwhelmed," a labourer who injured his arm in a collapsing wall told AP.ndian authorities are responding. "We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

Aftershocks could still be felt across the region sometime after the initial quake.

Mountaineer Alex Gavan tweeted that the quake caused an avalanche on Mount Everest.

In 2011, a deadly earthquake killed at least five people in Nepal. Kathmandu was all but destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 1934.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32461019

[Borgholio]

Recent CNN updates mention over 750 dead and still climbing.

[Broomstick]

Yeah, it's going to be bad - isn't most Nepalese building essentially brick? Without internal reinforcement like rebar that's bad in a quake. Not to mention it's a poor country and doesn't have the search and rescue resources of a wealthier nation. Not as bad as Haiti, but still bad. I hope they get a lot of help from others.

Not surprisingly, this has triggered avalanches in the mountains as well - severe damage being reported from Everest base camp, among others, people injured, missing dead, looks like another season of no summits may occur. And while some may dismiss the relevance of tourists getting buried in snow, tourism to Everest is a major source of income for the locals, more than one Sherpa has worked a couple season for foreign climbers to send his kids to school or give his family the financial means to a better life. Tourism is a mixed bag, but Nepal needs the money.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

13 dead in base camp and at least 18 foreign climbers dead on the mountain with no communication from any of the Sherpas to their organization, and the foreign media only reporting the foreign climber deaths out of racist contempt for the Sherpas. I would expect there could be as high as 100 dead on Everest alone counting the base camps; it was a big climbing day by all accounts. Death toll seems concentrated in the Kathmandu valley, where at least the emergency services are. Chinese and Indians are mobilizing major assistance; with luck it will be only a few thousand fatalities.

[Borgholio]

with luck it will be only a few thousand fatalities.

"Only"

[Mr Bean]

It's been making the rounds that the initial reporting from CNN, Reuters and China Daily all covered the earthquake in a very striking way RE:Everest. CNN covered the dead hikers and spent the first few hours ignoring the Sherpas, China mentioned the Sherpas first and mentioned only two Chinese citizen hikers being dead ignoring the other 40 dead while Reuters mentioned both.

Not sure how true it is but look for that making the rounds of social media.

[madd0ct0r]

For anyone intrested in making a contribution: http://www.ewb-uk.org/programmes/placem ... techniques

I saw a presentation by the people behind this particualr project a few years back. Mostly Italian led, IIRC. They'd gone to the communities in Nepal and offered to help them with a large building, training the local builders in resistant contruction methods, IF the communities raised half the money. They did for their local school. The earhquake hit 11.56am local time, so those schools would be full.

If the death toll is not in the thousands, and I really fucking hope it won't be (although it's already hit 1130), it's because of organisations like this and the volunteers who work for them.

[Broomstick]

News coverage is picking up this morning - I expect in no small part because communication lines are being re-established. Lots of video of devastation. At least the injured locals are getting some press along with injured/missing foreigners.

[Enigma]

I'm reading from the CBC the death toll is around 2,500.

[KroLazuxy_87]

Two Ways You Can Join Nepal's Earthquake Relief Effort From a Computer

There are a few important ways you can contribute to the Nepal earthquake relief effort from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Mapping Relief Routes

If you’ve got a keen eye and a bit of patience, consider aiding the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) in their effort to trace disaster relief routes. HOT is a web-based organization that applies principles of open source and open data sharing for humanitarian purposes. In response to yesterday’s earthquake, HOT is still in the early stages of mapping roads into remote mountainous regions, and they need all the help they can get. These roads are going to be critical in days ahead, as ground-based rescue and relief efforts work to navigate the rugged terrain.

The best place to get up-to-date information about HOT’s response is via the HOT 2015 Nepal Earthquake wiki coordination page. Here you can find mapping tasks that are currently in progress, select a region, and start tracing routes yourself.

Supporting Disaster Through PayPal

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income of $62.50 a month, according to the World Bank. There are a number of different humanitarian aid groups, including World Vision, American Red Cross and UNICEF, that have mobilized to accept disaster donations toward disaster relief.

Now, PayPal has stepped forward to streamline the process even further, allowing you to give any amount you choose to one of 11 charitable organizations. PayPal is covering all costs associated with these donations, ensuring that 100 percent of your contribution will be sent to the organization of your choosing via the PayPal Giving Fund.

The magnitude 7.8 quake that rocked Nepal late Saturday morning was the largest in over 80 years. As of this morning, there were over 2,000 reported casualties, according to a rolling report by The Guardian. Hundreds more may still remain trapped under piles of rubble.

[madd0ct0r]

4000

[Irbis]

So, second, almost as strong quake hit Nepal. Article, map and photos:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32701385

[Borgholio]

I find no word yet if this is an aftershock of the earlier one or a whole new quake that was simply set off by the other one. If it's a new quake, that means there could be more as the whole area starts relieving stress...

[Broomstick]

I heard it was a whole new quake, though I readily admit I have no idea how that would be distinguished from yet another aftershock.

[madd0ct0r]

8000

[Borgholio]

I heard it was a whole new quake, though I readily admit I have no idea how that would be distinguished from yet another aftershock.

It's kinda tricky. If it happened on the same fault it can be considered an aftershock easily. But if it's on another fault, it's often seen as a whole new earthquake.

However...

If the new earthquake ONLY took place due to the shock created by the first one...then it's a grey area. It's a whole new quake on a different fault, but it would not likely have happened without the first quake to get the ball rolling.