KATMANDU: The most powerful earthquake to hit Nepal in eight decades killed about 800 people, left hundreds trapped under rubble and reportedly took the lives of more than a dozen foreigners on Mount Everest.
The 7.8-magnitude temblor struck at 11:41 a.m. local time on Saturday, centered 77 kilometers (48 miles) northwest of the capital Kathmandu. An official at Nepals embassy in New Delhi said the death toll was near 800 and could rise further.
In Kathmandu, many old buildings have collapsed, Tirtha Raj Wagle, a counselor at the Nepal Embassy, said by phone. Some 18 foreigners died after an avalanche swept through Mount Everest, Indias CNN-IBN reported.
Tourism is a key economic driver for Nepal, one of Asias poorest countries with a gross domestic product that is smaller than all 50 U.S. states. Its 28 million people have the lowest spending power of any Asian country apart from Afghanistan, International Monetary Fund statistics show.
Authorities closed Kathmandus international airport and diverted flights. The earthquake shook buildings in neighboring India and Bangladesh. While metro stations in Delhi and Kolkata were evacuated, no major damage was reported at Indias power stations.
People living in Kathmandu fled their homes when the initial temblor hit, and remained out in the open as powerful aftershocks continued to rock the city. Aside from the main temblor, USGS reported at least a dozen aftershocks in Nepal. It was the countrys most powerful earthquake since 1934.
Staying Outdoors
The old temples, houses and all have been destroyed, Sanket Lamichhane, who works at an advertising company, said by phone from Kathmandu. Everybody is out on the road now, nobody is inside the houses.
Television images showed rescuers pulling out people who were trapped under the 19th century Dharahara Tower, a nine-storey structure in Kathmandu that collapsed in the quake.
Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an urgent meeting to coordinate relief and sent rescue teams to Nepal.
Eight people died in India, according to Major General Anurag Gupta, joint secretary for operations and communications at the National Disaster Management Authority.
Very Scared
It was so powerful and the entire house was shaking, so we got out, said Sila Gurung, 28, who lives in a three-storey home with her mother in Kathmandus Nakhipot district, close to the popular tourist site Patan Durbar Square. Everyone is very scared, and no one knows when it will be safe to go back home.
The South Asia region has a history of catastrophic earthquakes because the tectonic plate that carries the Indian subcontinent is pushing northward into the main Asian plate. About 60 percent of the Indias land area faces a moderate to severe seismic hazard, according to its National Disaster Management Authority.
The 1934 earthquake centered in Nepal, just west of Sikkim, killed more than 16,000 people. A 6.9-magnitude quake in September 2011 jolted Indias eastern Sikkim state, killing more than 80 people. The 2005 Kashmir quake killed more than 70,000 in Pakistan.
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