Massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake causes widespread devastation in Nepal, Kathmandu airport reportedly shut down

Even as aftershocks continue to be felt across Nepal and its capital Kathmandu, reports of the first casualty from the severe 7.9 magnitude has trickled in, of a 15 year old girl, who succumbed to her injuries on the Indian side of the Indo-Nepal border. The casualty, officials both in Nepal and India fear, could go much higher given the scale of devastation followed by the massive earthquake and its hugely powerful aftershocks.

Some extremely moving first pictures and videos amongst other details of the extent of damage have also started filtering in. Several pictures have surfaced showing huge cracks on roads in Kathmandu, several destroyed buildings, including a completely raised to the ground chapel. Reports also suggest that the Kathmandu airport has been shutdown and all flights are now being directed to India. Fear is now mounting that there could be several people stuck or buried under collapsed high-rises and other buildings in Kathmandu alone.

An earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck 80 km (50 miles) east of Pokhara in Nepal on Saturday, about half way between the town and the capital Kathmandu. Tremors have been felt right across the entire northern Indian belt, from Rajasthan to the states in the north east. The quake was 31 km (19 miles) deep.

This is the second largest earthquake to rock the region since 1934, when an earthquake measuring over 8 on the Richter scale, nearly wiped out the entire area. Though slightly lesser in magnitude, today’s earthquake, given it is continental in nature, is expected to create widespread devastation in and around the epicentre.

So strong has been its impact, that several strong after- tremors have been felt even as far as Delhi NCR since then. Several picture from Kathmandu showing damaged and destroyed buildings have already started pouring in.

What is a big cause of concern however is the level of preparedness that one can expect in the national capital region, given it falls in Earthquake Zone 4, or the second most dangerous geographical zone for earthquakes in India, followed only by the entire Himalayan belt, which is the most earthquake prone area in India (Zone 5).