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More than 8600 people have died after the massive earthquake hit Nepal on Saturday April 25 and after the second earthquake on May 12, nearly 22000 people are injured, as police and media informed. Millions of people have lost their homes: 500000 houses are fully damaged. It was the worst earthquake in more than eighty years. The quake toppled buildings in the valley of Kathmandu and its surroundings and triggered avalanches in the Himalayas. There were over 100 aftershocks. People now live outside in tent camps. Read how Kashish Das Shrestha described this on Twitter. Monsoon storms now are arriving.
The consequences of the earthquakes are immense: "Villages need to be relocated; shelter and livelihoods provided for at least three million people in the danger zone. Relief supplies still haven’t reached the remote valleys. There are 25,000 schools destroyed - 1.7 million children are affected. Health posts and hospitals are barely coping with the wounded. The task of reconstruction is beyond comprehension: 600,000 homes were destroyed", Kunda Dixit writes on May 26 in an article for bbc.co.uk.
Follow people on Twitter in Nepal about the situation after the earthquake.
Read also: Hope and Despair after the Earthquake in Nepal: News-Update
The epicentre of the quake in the 7.9 in the Richter scale was 50 miles north-west of Kathmandu, at Lamjung.
Live footage of the earthquake by a police camera:
Hotel in popular tourist quarter Thamel in Kathmandu collapsed, at least 50 persons killed here, reports Siobhan Heanue.
Big loss of cultural heritage in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktipur
The loss of cultural heritage and also Unesco World Heritage is incredibly big. Here you get an overviw, what has been documented so far.
The big loss in Kathmandu
Dharahara Tower (Bhimsen Tower) in Kathmandu has been destroyed by the earthquake. It was originally built in 1832 by Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa for Queen Lalita Tripura Sundari. It seems that mpre than hundred people have died from this tower collapsing. The tower attracted a lot of tourists, as they got a great view of Kathmandu up there.
Dharahara before earthquake:
Picture by OliphantDharahara after:
Picture by Kanak Mani Dixit on TwitterSee picture of collapsed Dharahara Tower.
Basantapur and Durbar squares: The square in front of the old royal palace (durbar means royal palace) after the earthquake:
Picture by Kashish Das Shrestha on TwitterSee also pictures by Basanta on Twitter.
A drone video shows the damage: Maju Devali Temple and Trailokya Mohan temple are devastated. Kasthamandap and Shiva Parvati Temple are still standing. But locals fear that Shiva Parvati could collapse due to cracks in the walls.
Durbar Square before:
Picture by KomoraMaju Deval, temple of Shiva, built in 1692 by Radhilasmi, the widowed queen of Pratap Malla
Durbar Square after: Maju Deval temple has gone - on the right side you see the rubble, where Trailokya Mohan Temple had been standing:
Picture by Schwede66
Picture by Matt WernerThe house of Kumari survived according to salokya.
Picture by Sundar1Courtyard of Kumari Bahal, also Khumari Ghar. The nine-year-old living goddess, who had been staying on the second floor of the house, has been shifted to a secure area at the ground floor near the courtyard, reports myrepubblica.com.
Indrapur temple seems to be destroyed, also statue of King Pratap Malla fell from pillar as Salil Subedi reports. BBC shows: that the top tiers of Basantapur tower have fallen and that the adjoining part of the Royal Palace Hanuman Dhoka, Nasal Chowk, has collapsed. After the second earthquake more damage at the royal palace.
Lagan Tole Square south of Durbar in Kathmandu: Sections of Bhimsen Thapa's palace destroyed:
Picture by Ayesha Shakya on TwitterThe palace, known as Shil Khana, was in bad condition before, as you can read here.
Tripureshwor: Mahadev Temple, founded by Queen Lalita Tripura Sundari in 1818, is a traditional Newari temple in Kathmandu. After the 1934 earthquake, fire and general neglect, the temple was in the verge of collapse and restoration planned. Now it has fallen, reports Roshan Sedhai. Renovation of Mahadev temple has started, reports ekantipur.com.
Kalomochan Temple has been destroyed as well, shows Kanak Mani Dixit on Twitter, "only the Garuda stands guard". See volunteers clearing the debris. See the destruction also by nepalphotoproject
Kalmochan Temple before:
Picture by Nabin BasnetSingha Durbar: The earthquake on May 12 has seriously damaged most of the old buildings inside Singha Durbar, the official seat of government of Nepal. The building that houses the office of the prime minister and council of ministers has suffered serious damages. Singha Durbar had been built by the Rana dynasty. Also the building that houses the ministries of general administration and youth and sports has suffered serious damages. See pictures of the crumbling Rana Palaces.
The big loss in Patan (Lalitpur)
In Patan (former name: Lalitpur) destruction also hit Durbar Square with Patan Royal Palace. Char Narayan Temple (built 1565 or 17th century) collapsed, also Taleju Mandir, also Rato Machhendranath Temple. The Yognarendra Malla statue collapsed, shows Kanak Mani Dixit on Twitter. See Patan Durbar square before and after the earthquak5. See pictures by Siobhan Heanue. See video: Patan Durbar Square before and after earthquake:
Patan after earthquake:
Picture by Kunda Dixit on TwitterWhere the Hari Shankar and Uma Maheswar Temple stood:
Picture by Kunda Dixit on TwitterItalian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci turned his movie "Little Buddha" in Patan. He writes he is crying and his pain about the victims is big.
Thapathali: Temple after earthquake:
Picture by salokya on TwitterSwayambhunath Mahachaitya has survived
The stupa at Swayambhunath, northwest of Kathmandu, one of the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites and among the oldest religious sites in Nepal, the religious center for Newar Buddhists, still stands as BBC shows. The bell of Anantapur Shikara temple fell down, but - oh wonder - gave protection to a child, who was later dug out from the debris of the temple with minimal hurts, as Professor Sudarshan Raj Tiwari reports on Facebook. It looks like stabilisation work is going well at Swayambhu Mahachaitya:
Picture by Sudarshan Raj TiwariThe fallen bell of Anantapur Shikara temple
Picture by Sudarshan Raj TiwariThe emergency crew breaks dangerously loose part at the mid-sanctum level on May 6
Picture by Sudarshan Raj TiwariThe stabilized entrance portico of Pratappur temple. Read about renovation in 2011.
Picture by Sudarshan Raj TiwariThe eyes of Vairochana watch on from the center of the intact Swoyambhumahachaitya. Those residing in Kathmandu valley have shown great reverence to the power of these eyes.
Pashupatinath Temple has survived
Kathmandu's Pashupatinath Temple, one of the most sacred Hindu temples of Nepal, was not harmed by the earthquake. For urban planners and historic preservationists, it offers a lesson in earthquake-resilient building. Tej Kumar Karki, the town planning chief of Kathmandu city, has explinations. See video about earthquake in Pashupatinath Temple. Read more about Pashupatinath area.
Bishwarup temple in the Pashupatinath area was damaged:
Picture by Jagannath on TwitterRato Machhindranath in Bungamati: South of Patan. salokya shows the destroyed Bungamati temple. Rato Machhindranath Temple is also known as Karunamaya, Bungadyah, and Avalokiteshvara. The shikhar-styled temple bore a resemblance to the Patan Durbar Square’s Krishna Mandir. The 1,300-year-old temple dated back to the Licchavi period, during the time of King Narendra Dev of Bhaktapur and King Bara Dev of Patan. Read More: The road to recovery. See a video and ee soldiers clearing the ruins. Read also: Rato Machindranath's renowned Bhoto still missing. The jewelled Bhoto was found on May 18 under the rubble.
Picture by Niqita GuptaThe temple of Bhairabnath located right before the Rato Machhindranath has also seen wreckage, reports merokhabar.net.
The big loss in Bhaktapur
The historic town Bhaktapur has been strongly hit by the earthquake. Read Bhaptapur in Ruins.
At Durbar Square (Layaku) Vatsala Durga temple in front of the Royal Palace was devastated as BBC shows. See picture 1.<br> and picture 2
Picture by Spandan Kamal55 windows palace (Pachpanna Jhyale Darbar) has survived, as this video shows, but some reports say, that it is partly damaged.
At Taumadhi Tole (temple square) Nyatapola was still standing.
Picture by Kashish Das ShresthaNyatapola temple (left), stands. Phasidega was less fortunate. Panorama taken from where it once stood.
Dattatraya temple has collapsed. "East of the Dattatreya temple, all homes have collapsed. Once upon a time, men would get lost in these lanes. Now, the lanes have themselves disappeared. Even rescue personnel don’t know whether the debris was once a house, or part of the road", writes pahilopost.com. But an eleven years old girl after 90 hours under the rubble of the temple has been rescued, as Kunda Dixit tweeted.
Another picture of Bhaktapur after the quake. And more pictures of Bhaktapur on Saturday. Meanwhile Neelam Pradhananga reports about the situation in Bhaktapur and shows many photos.
Changu Narayan temple north of Bhaktapur has survived, but suffered, see these pictures.
Read what Amrit Sharma writes about the situation in Bhaktapur after the quake.
The situation of the people in the mountains
Gorkha: "Gorkha district death toll now stands at 210. Over 150 injured. 70 percent of houses in rural areas destroyed", reports The Kathmandu Post. Sad pictures from this districts are published by Baburam Bhattarai:
Picture by Baburam Bhattarai
A report says in Barpak Village of 1200 houses only 4 are left. 120 people have been safely rescued. See Barpak village then and now. Video of Barpak Village. Anubha Bhonsle writes after visit: "Left Barpak tonight with respect & awe. So much destruction&loss. And barely an angry word from anyone. Quiet sorrow". New pictures from Barpak.
Staff of Médécins sans Frontières have arrived in Ghorka. Food help is arriving in Ghorka. In the area of Ghorka over 50000 houses have collapsed.
"We are hungry", shouted women on Wednesday, when the help arrived at the village of Gumda. "As in many villages, though, the death toll in Gumda was far lower than feared, since many villagers were working outdoors when the quake struck at midday. Of Gumda's 1,300 people, five were killed in the quake and 20 more were injured", reports My Republica. With the erratic Himalayan weather, aid workers are worried about keeping people warm, fed and safe.
See video of Laprak after the earthquake. Read The Ghosts of Laprak. See video showing the devastation of Laprak. Read: No longer at ease.
Gorka Durbar, the Gorakhnath cave, the Gorakhnath temple and the Kalika temple have been devastated by the earthquake, said Ganesh Prasad Bhattarai, chief at the Gorkha Palace Management Office. Other temples in the palace premises - Pashupati, Guheshwori, Vidya, Bajra Bhairav, Kotkali, Kalika temples - were destroyed too.
Dhading district: "In Dhading district 80 km (50 miles) outside Kathmandu, people camped in the open, the hospital was overflowing, the power was off and shops were closed. Rocks were strewn across the lightly-traveled single road running west from the capital", reports Reuters. Basudev Ghimire, head of the local rescue unit, said that more than 130 people had been killed in the district but the number injured ran into the thousands. Videos and Pictures of Dhading Earthquake.
Dolakha district: In No Tents to Brave the Trembling Earth and Naked Sky we read about the situation in this district on 13 May, the day after the second major earthquake. In Dudhpokhari all the houses have collapsed. In Charikot: Hotel Sangam is a ruin, as you can see on Facebook. In Singati the road to the Tamakosi Hydropower Project has been wiped away. The bodies still lie under the rubble of the houses, reports nepaltimes.com. In Bulungkhani many buildings have been destroyed and land has become uncultivable, reports ekantipur.com. In Dolakha the second earthquake was more destructive than the main earthquake, reports nepalitimes.com. In Jiri the long street of tidy trekking lodges and village shops lies in ruins. All the old hotels were shaken to rubble, the interior of their rooms visible from the streets.
Lamjung: A lot of destruction to see. Updates by Meena Gurung. Video by Indian TV in Lamjung.
Nuwakot district: More than 50 people were killed when buildings collapsed in Gaunkharka, now the villagers are trying to build temporary shelters, as nepaltimes.com reports. The village of Ghyangphedi has been wiped out by a landslide.
Sindhupalchowk district: "No one has come": Nepal villagers in Swarathik wait for aid to flow beyond the capital.. Read also: We couldn’t merely read about a devastated Sindhupalchowk
Kavre district: Dean Nelson (Daily Telegraph) is tweeting from Kavre. "In Kavre district there are villages where not single house is standing or habitable." Read also: Sashi’s home.
Lumbini: The Buddha birdplace and pilgrimage site Lumbini near the Indian border was not affected by the earthquake, reports nytimes.com. There seems to be only little damage. "Lumbini is safe for tourists", says Lumbini Development Trust.
The situation after the avalanche on Mount Everest
Read: Rescuers Struggle to Reach Outlying Villages Hit by Nepal Earthquake
Mount Everest: 18 climbers have been found dead at Mount Everest on Saturday after a massive avalanche – triggered by the earthquake – swept through the base camp. Read more. Pictures by AFP. On Sunday 217 people were missing in Mount Everest region according to ekantipur.com. On Monday the Mount Everest camps were evacuated by choppers. Alex Schneider and Sam Chappatte, a British couple caught in Camp 1, have been tweeting about the rescue operation.
The situation in Langtang
See the locations on Langtang area reference map
Picture by Nirajan paudelLangtang village before the earthquake
Picture by Nirajan paudelLangtang village after the earthquake: one house remained
Langtang village was hit by a avalanche, over hundred people feared dead. Read more. Pilot reports that entire villages in the area have been "washed away". Many people on Twitter are searching friends and relatives, who were in Langtang. Some people have been located in Langtang (read), they are waitung for help. The village Ghodatabela in Rasuwa district was hit by an avalanche on Sunday. Up to 250 people are missing. On Twitter there is a report by eyewitness Austin Lord about the situation in Langtang area. "Langtang is gone", reports Nepali Times about the avalanche there. There is a list of foreign people, who are in the new Langtang hospital. On Wednesday bad news from Langtang: Officials say, that nearly 150 people are missing, 250 have been rescued. "At least 219 foreign and 132 domestic tourists stranded at the Langtang area were rescued on Wednesday", reported My Republica. Two foreigners have been found dead, reports Reuters. Reports, that Britions have been left in Langtang. Saturday May 2 we learned: Police and army digged out 42 bodies from avalanche-hit Langtang and brought the bodies to Dhunche, among them 6 foreigners. Ah Malaysian guy tell his story: how the earthquake happened in Langtang and how he trekked out and what he saw on tat way. On Saturday May 3 The Himalaya Times reports: "Forty-eight bodies of foreign tourists have so far been recovered from Langtang, while more than 200 persons, including at least 150 hikers, have been missing since an avalanche triggered by the devastating earthquake swept through the tiny village in Rasuwa". On Monday May 4 theguardian.com reports: "Police, soldiers and volunteers have launched a major search operation in the remote Langtang region to look for up to 600 trekkers and support staff who have been missing since an 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the south Asian country nine days ago". The bodies of about 100 trekkers and villagers were recovered at the biggest village in Langtang. The entire village, which includes 55 guesthouses used by trekkers, was wiped out by the avalanche, officials said. “Volunteers and police personnel are digging through six-foot snow with shovels looking for more bodies,” Gautam Rimal, assistant chief district officer, said. Uddab Bhattarai, the most senior administrator in the area, said more than 400 people had been killed in Langtang, with at least 250 missing. See video of BBC: Only one house is left in Langtang village, all other buildings have been buried my a mass of snow and rocks. American Corey Ascolani has been rescued from Langtang Valley. He stayed in Bamboo village and looks back by talking to journalists. "Boulders with the size of vans" came down with the avalanche, that destroyed Langtang village. On May 9 new avalanches halted the rescue work in Langtang. Officer Gajendra Kumar Thakur said that Nepal Army's rescue team has taken out 90 dead bodies, including nine foreigners, from the areas so far. Read what foreigners saw in Langtang. American alpinist Colin Haley, who was visiting Langtang Valley with his French climbing partner Aymeric Clouet and Clouet's family, has since been evacuated from the area. He writes on Facebook: "Most of the villagers in Kyanjing Gompa (3870m) [in Langtang Valley] lost their homes, their livelihood, and 80 percent of their family members in the span of about two minutes. The next village down-valley, Langtang, was essentially completely obliterated by an enormous avalanche, killing what I've heard speculated to be 300+ people. The earthquake was nothing in comparison to the avalanches it triggered. The devastation is immense." See this video of devastated Langtang village.
"Langtang Lament" - a great report by Nepali Times about the horror in Langtang Valley. Read.
The village wiped off the map in a few terrifying seconds: Carole CadwalladrHow writes how the avalanche wiped out a community where 400 people lived and where, at that moment, nearly 100 foreign trekkers are believed to have been. "All over Kathmandu, the relatives of missing trekkers are still gathering in embassies around the city. No one knows exactly how many people are still missing in the area, but it is estimated that 183 Nepalese and 50-70 foreigners have died, and at least 100 people, both foreign and Nepalese, are still unaccounted for."
See a chopper flight into Langtang valley after #Nepal Earthquake.
The earthquake in Nepal was long awaited
The heavy earthquake was no surprise for people who lnow about Nepals vulnerability by earthquarkes. Read what Kunda Dixit wrote months ago reminding his people about earthquake preparedness. In Nepal two of the Earth’s tectonic plates are colliding. What happened on Saturday is described by University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham here.
How you can help the people in Nepal
Nepals Primeminister asks for contrubutions to bank accounts.
CNN says, where help is needed.
Read more:
Hope and Despair after the Earthquake in Nepal: News-Update
