By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com)
KATMANDU/NEW DELHI (ANS -- APRIL 26, 2015 )
A desperate search for survivors trapped under tons of debris across
the Katmandu valley halted, along with relief operations, for a few
hours on Sunday, after an intense 6.9 magnitude aftershock convulsed the
region and several north Indian states including Delhi shortly after
noon.
According to a story by The Times of India, panic-stricken Nepalese
ran out on the streets of Katmandu, a city of 1.2 million, dreading
another catastrophe.
The death toll exceeds 2,500 in the Himalayan nation, with more
than 750 deaths in Katmandu alone. There are close to 6,000 people
injured.
Crowds of people could be seen lying on grounds outside buildings
of the shattered capital, several with intravenous drips, and panic
written all over their faces.
With rumors flying around in the near absence of a phone network,
The Times of India said people prepared to spend their second
consecutive night under an open sky. Heavy rain added to their misery.
Experts said the epicenter of Sunday's aftershock was 75 km east of
Katmandu, which could, at a stretch, be taken as another tremor of
moderate intensity. While its impact wasn't anywhere close to what the
region shook under on Saturday, it was the most severe of 35 aftershocks
in the region in the past over 24 hours.
The region faces a grim situation. That’s also due in part to
prediction of heavy rain and thunderstorms in Nepal, eastern Uttar
Pradesh, northern Bihar and sub-Himalayan Sikkim and West Bengal in the
next 24 to 72 hours.
The weather is affecting the ongoing relief work, as well as restricting flights into the ravaged capital.
According to The Times of India, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala
arrived to a devastated city from an official trip to Southeast Asia,
amid signs that his administration was falling short on rescue work and
sustaining adequate supplies of water, electricity and food.
A story by Katharine Lackey for USA Today said it will be some time
before the full extent of the damage and the final death toll is known.
At least 29 districts have been designated as crisis zones. Hospitals
in the capital have been overwhelmed. About 90 percent of the 1,000
homes in the villages of Laprak and Barpak near the epicenter were
destroyed.
Photo caption: People clear rubble in Kathmandu's Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was severely damaged by the earthquake Photo: AFP/Getty
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