The faulty meeting of two tectonic plates beneath the Himalaya; the Indian tectonic plate and the Eurasian tectonic plate has been said to cause the Nepal’s worst earthquake in 81 years with magnitude of 7.8 on April 26, 2015.
The Saturday’s earthquake has killed more than 3,200 people across the country including those who lost their lives on Everest. Prompted by the earthquake, the avalanche caused death of 17 people with anonymous nationalities but most of them would be foreigners.
Rescue planes had difficulty to airlift the survivors due to snowfalls on Saturday but the skies were reported to be clear on Sunday morning.
As many as six million people might be affected in Nepal by Saturday’s disaster, as warned by the relief agencies. Hospitals in Kathmandu Valley, the quake-affected region, were overcrowded, running out of emergency supplies and space to store the dead.
The quake was strong enough to be felt in the neighborhood countries around the belt of Himalaya; India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and China’s region of Tibet and death has also been reported from these countries.
The disaster destroyed two major tourist attractions and resources of the country which relies hugely on tourism; the Kathmandu’s historic nine-storey Dharahara tower and the Everest.
Frequent aftershocks were experienced on Sunday following the quake.
The congestion at Kathmandu airport following the quake has somehow slowed down the deployment of rescuers and medical staff across the country.
Despite the increasing death toll, 48 hours post-quake in Nepal, the international aid groups and governments are continuously sending emergency crews to reinforce search and rescue activity of the survivors, to offer money, equipment and expertise to the country.
By : Nureen Fatin Syafiqa Adnan
