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7.9 quake devastates Nepal, tremor felt in India

by IBNS 24 Apr 2015, 11:21 pm

New Delhi, Apr 25 (IBNS) A massive earthquake with epicenter located about 80 km northwest of Kathmandu hit Nepal causing widespread damage, including loss of life, in the capital region of the Himalayan nation while in India people experienced tremors for nearly a minute in Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, UP, West Bengal and Northeast on Saturday, triggering panic as people rushed outside.

United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake - which struck east of Pokhara- measured 7.9 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the quake is located 35 km east of Lamjung district in Nepal.

Buildings collapsed and cracks appeared on the roads in Nepal where the devastation was yet to be measured. 

Two deaths were reported so far while many were injured. 

Several walls of houses collapsed in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal. 

Reports said some temples also were reduced to rubble in Kathmandu. 

"Seismicity in the Himalaya dominantly results from the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates, which are converging at a relative rate of 40-50 mm/yr. Northward underthrusting of India beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth. The surface expression of the plate boundary is marked by the foothills of the north-south trending Sulaiman Range in the west, the Indo-Burmese Arc in the east and the east-west trending Himalaya Front in the north of India," USGS website said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "News has come in about an Earthquake in Nepal. Several parts of India also experienced tremors.We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home & in Nepal."
 
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has called the earthquake as 'great'. From Rajasthan to Delhi to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Northeast, people everywhere in northern to eastern India felt the tremors for nearly a minute. 

Anita Saha, Associate Teaching Professor at Tribhuvan University in Nepal said, "We felt it in Nepalgunj. The tremors were quite strong.  I don't know about the damages caused in my city so far."

In Kolkata, buildings were shaking and many panic stricken people rushed outside.

Similar scenes were scene in Delhi and Patna and other parts of India.