Deadly Earthquake in Nepal, Over 1,000 Dead

A powerful earthquake has devastated Nepal and over 1,400 have already been declared dead. That toll is expected to rise as additional reports are coming in. Chabad of Nepal has been working hard to locate missing backpackers and provide shelter for the displaced.

Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz, director of Chabad of Nepal, described the earthquake as “violent shakes that persisted for a number of long minutes, and tremors were still felt hours later.”

The quake struck at 11:55am local time, and is reported to have collapsed thousands of modern and ancient structures. Many have been spending the night under the open sky.

“The scenes here are very disturbing; there is no electricity or running water in the entire Kathmandu,” Rabbi Lifshitz said, adding that “our main mission is to locate missing Israelis and provide shelter for the many who are displaced.”

Within hours of the quake, hospitals had filled up with hundreds of injured people. With organized relief and rescue lacking, many survivors were brought to hospitals by friends and relatives in motorized rickshaws, flatbed trucks and cars. Residents used their bare hands, crowbars and other tools to dig through rubble and rescue survivors.

Forecasts called for rain and thunder showers later Saturday and Sunday, and the temperatures were in the mid-50s – cold enough to make camping outside uncomfortable.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 7.8. It said the quake hit at 11:56 a.m. local time (0611 GMT) at Lamjung, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu. Its depth was only 11 kilometers (7 miles), the largest shallow quake since the 8.2 temblor off the coast of Chile on April 1, 2014.