KATHMANDU, Nepal (PNN) - April 25, 2015 - A powerful earthquake struck Nepal Saturday, killing at least 718 people across a swath of four countries as the violently shaking earth collapsed houses, leveled centuries-old temples, and triggered avalanches on Mt. Everest. It was the worst tremor to hit the poor South Asian nation in over 80 years.
At least 688 people were confirmed dead in Nepal, according to the terrorist pig thug cops. Another 20 were killed in India, six in Tibet, and two in Bangladesh. Given the scale of the destruction, the death toll is almost certain to rise, said Home Ministry official Laxmi Dhakal. (The death rate is now over 3000.)
It was a few minutes before noon when the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8, began to rumble across the densely populated Kathmandu Valley, rippling through the capital Kathmandu and spreading in all directions - north toward the Himalayas and Tibet, south to the Indo-Gangetic plains, east toward the Brahmaputra delta of Bangladesh, and west toward the historical city of Lahore in Pakistan.
A magnitude 6.6 aftershock hit about an hour later, and smaller aftershocks continued to jolt the region for hours. Residents ran out of homes and buildings in panic. Walls tumbled, large cracks opened up on streets and walls, towers collapsed, and clouds of dust began to swirl all around.
The quake's epicenter was 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu, and it had a depth of only 7 miles, which is considered shallow in geological terms. The shallower the quake the more destructive power it carries, and witnesses said the trembling and swaying of the earth went on for several minutes.
The U.S. Geological Survey revised the magnitude from 7.5 to 7.9 but then lowered it to 7.8. It said the quake hit at 11:56 a.m. local time (0611 GMT) at Lamjung. It was the largest shallow quake since the 8.2 temblor off the coast of Chile on April 1, 2014.
A magnitude 7 quake is capable of widespread and heavy damage while an 8-magnitude quake can cause tremendous damage.