7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Nepal … Killing More than 1,000 People (Update: More Than 1,900 Killed in Quake)(Update: Death Toll More Than 3,700)(Update: Nepal Death Toll at 5,045 Deaths)

7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Nepal …

A  7.8 magnitude earthquake has stuck Nepal in an area between the capital, Kathmandu, and the city of Pokhara. The government is reporting that nearly 700 people have died from the massive earthquake; however, the numbers are  sadly expected top rise. The earthquake is the worst one in Nepal in 81 years as it toppling a 19th-century tower in the capital Kathmandu and touching off a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

Nearly 1,000 are known to have died in a powerful earthquake in Nepal, with many more feared trapped under rubble, officials say.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck an area between the capital, Kathmandu, and the city of Pokhara, the US Geological Survey said.

Tremors were felt across the region, with further loss of life in India, Bangladesh, Tibet and on Mount Everest.

The government has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

A national police spokesman told the BBC that 970 people had died in the quake, and that more than 1,700 had been injured. At least 539 people were killed in the Kathmandu valley, he added.

Nepali Information Minister Minendra Rijal said there had been “massive damage” at the epicentre, from where little information is emerging.

UPDATE I: At Least 1,457 Dead After Massive Earthquake Strikes Nepal.

A massive earthquake near the capital of Nepal killed at least 1,457 people today as it collapsed temples and triggered an avalanche on Mt. Everest.

The magnitude-7.8 quake hit about 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu just before noon local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The death toll, estimated by the Nepalese Army, was expected to rise, said officials.

Another 1,055 were injured, said the country’s finance minister, Ram Sharan Mahat. It’s the worst earthquake in Nepal in over 80 years, according to the Associated Press.

CNN – 7.8 magnitude quake slams Nepal; hundreds dead

UPDATE II: Devastating Nepal quake kills over 1,000, some in Everest avalanche.

A powerful earthquake struck Nepal and sent tremors through northern India on Saturday, killing more than 1,000 people, toppling a 19th-century tower in the capital Kathmandu and touching off a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

There were reports of devastation in outlying, isolated mountainous areas after the midday quake of magnitude 7.9, Nepal’s worst in 81 years, centered 50 miles (80 km) east of the second city, Pokhara.

As fears grew of a humanitarian disaster in the impoverished Himalayan nation of 28 million, an overwhelmed government appealed for foreign help. India was first to respond by sending in military aircraft with medical equipment and relief teams.

A police official said the death toll in Nepal alone had reached 1,130, more than half of them in the Kathmandu Valley. A further 36 fatalities were reported in northern India, 12 in Chinese Tibet and four in Bangladesh.

UPDATE III: Everest climbers jolted; at least 8 dead at base camp.

A powerful earthquake in Nepal sparked a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest on Saturday, killing at least eight people at the base camp.

The base camp is where journalists, climbers and their families gather and get news to the world about developments at Everest, the world’s highest mountain above sea level.

At least one team of climbers on Everest appears to be safe after a few hours of anguish in which the expedition leader asked for prayers on social media in the wake of the massive earthquake in Nepal.

UPDATE IV: The Guardian – Nepal earthquake: death toll exceeds a thousand – live updates.

• More than 1,000 people have been reported dead after a huge 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal
• The country’s deputy prime minister, Bamdev Gautam, has declared a state of emergency and appealed for humanitarian assistance across the region.
• 18 climbers were found dead on Mount Everest after the tremor triggered an avalanche. Many more are trapped.
• The total death toll has risen quickly throughout the day, and is now thought to include at least 634 in the Kathmandu Valley and 300 more in the capital.
• 36 people have also been reported dead India, 12 in China, four in Bangladesh and six in Tibet.
• The quake caused dozens of buildings in Kathmandu to collapse, including the historic Dharahara Tower.

UPDATE V: More than 1,900 killed by 7.8-magnitude quake in Nepal.

At nightfall, Nepal’s capital became a tent city, as thousands of residents displaced by Saturday’s devastating earthquake stayed in their dark gardens and out on the cracked streets and lanes, afraid to go back inside because of waves of aftershocks, including a powerful jolt Sunday that the U.S. Geological Survey said measured 6.7 magnitude and which sent people fleeing for open ground and safety.

It had been a pleasant Saturday morning, with families just sitting down to lunch and tourists thronging to Kathmandu’s Durbar Square when the temblor hit, a horrible rocking motion that seemed to go on without end. The quake was ultimately felt across South Asia — in Lahore, in New Delhi, in Dhaka. Snow avalanched down Mount Everest. Buildings fell, mud-joined huts collapsed. By the end of the night, more than 1,900 lay dead, Nepalese officials said, with countless more injured.

UPDATE VI: Death toll from a devastating earthquake rose past 3,700.

Rescue workers raced to reach remote rural villages in Nepal Monday as the official death toll from a devastating earthquake rose past 3,700 and threatened to climb.

Nepal police said in a statement Monday that the country’s death toll had risen to 3,617 people. That number does not include the 18 people confirmed dead in an avalanche that swept through the Mount Everest base camp in the wake of the magnitude-7.8 earthquake. Another 61 people were killed in neighboring India. China reported that 20 people had died in Tibet.

Reports received so far by the government and aid groups suggest that many communities perched on mountainsides are devastated or struggling to cope. Udav Prashad Timalsina, the top official for the Gorkha district, near the epicenter of Saturday’s quake, said he was in desperate need of help.

“There are people who are not getting food and shelter. I’ve had reports of villages where 70 percent of the houses have been destroyed,” he said.

Nepal quake: Death toll passes 3,700 amid fears of devastation in rural areas.

The death toll in Nepal from the earthquake that struck two days ago has risen to 3,726, Nepalese police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam said Monday.

As the death toll from Nepal’s worst earthquake in decades surged past 3,400 on Monday, big questions remained about the scale of the devastation in rural areas.

The destruction in Kathmandu, the capital, is stark: Revered temples reduced to rubble, people buried in the wreckage of their homes, hospitals short on medical supplies overflowing with patients. Serious damage is also reported in villages in the surrounding valley.

But farther out across Nepal’s rugged landscape — closer to the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude quake that struck Saturday — the situation is worryingly murky.

UPDATE VII: The official death toll from Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal has increased.

The official death toll from Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal has increased.

Nepal police late Wednesday reported 5,045 deaths had occurred in Nepal.

It also said more than 10,100 people had been injured and 7,400 of them remained hospitalized.

In addition, 19 people were killed on Mount Everest, 61 people were killed in India and China reported 25 deaths in Tibet.