USGS upgrades quake to 7.4 magnititude, hits Nepal, many parts of India

An earthquake that was earlier measured as 7.1 on the Richter scale was soon upgraded to 7.4 had hit Nepal and many parts of North India with the impact being felt up in Delhi, West Bengal and Assam. The epicentre has been located on the Nepal-China border, 83 km east of Kathmandu. There was also another tremor in Afghanistan around the same time the intensity of which was recorded at 4.7 on the Richter scale according to the USGS. The tremor was felt at 12.35 pm IST. [caption id=“attachment_2234192” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] On 25 April, a massive 7.9 magnitude had hit Nepal and many parts of North India with the Himalayan Kingdom suffering huge loss of life and property. Crisis loomed over quake-hit Nepal on 25 April following shortage of food, water, electricity and medicines as fear drove tens of thousands of people out into the open and the death toll soared to over 8,000. Following the massive earthquake last month, Nepal scrambled to put together massive rescue and relief efforts, the country hit by the worst quake in 80 years desperately sought international help to tide over the situation. Bad weather had affected the international rescue effort after the 7.9 magnitude quake had flattened thousands of homes and buildings, leaving about 7,000 injured and scores missing. Earlier India had launched a massive rescue mission armed with modern equipment, dumpers and earth removers and aided by sniffer dogs, disaster relief workers were trying to locate possible survivors against fading hopes. The quake that flattened homes and buildings and the subsequent powerful aftershocks forced people out to live in the open under plastic tents, barely shielding them from cold and rains that have pounded the city. Fuel and medicines were also in short supply. The picture was the same in suburbs of Kathmandu and in other rural areas. Nepal’s top bureaucrat Leela Mani Paudel had said that the immediate and big challenge was relief. “We urge foreign countries to give us special relief materials and medical teams. We are really desperate for more foreign expertise to pull through this crisis,” he said.