Thread: Strong quake hits northeastern India; 9 dead (Now 47)

Strong quake hits northeastern India; 9 dead

By WASBIR HUSSAIN - Associated Press | AP – 14 mins ago...

GAUHATI, India (AP) — A strong earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal on Sunday night, killing at least nine people, damaging buildings and sending lawmakers in Nepal's capital running into the streets.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, was felt across northeast India including the capital of New Delhi. It triggered at least two aftershocks of magnitude 6.1 and 5.3, Indian seismology official R.S. Dattatreyan said. He warned more aftershocks were possible.

At least four people in India's Sikkim state were killed and an unspecified number of people were injured, state police Chief Jasbir Singh told The Associated Press. Nepal's government said five people died and dozens were hurt there.

The full extent of damage was not immediately known because the region is sparsely populated with many living in remote areas which were cut off by mudslides triggered by the quake, Singh said.

TV stations reported buildings collapsed and sidewalks cracked in Sikkim's state capital of Gangtok, 42 miles (68 kilometers) southeast of the quake's epicenter. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police said two of its buildings had collapsed in Gangtok.

Rescuers were working overnight to search for anyone pinned under fallen buildings in the city, which has a population of 50,000, Singh said.

"We have sounded a high alert. Police are on the streets in Gangtok and other major towns," he said.

Electricity and some phone service was interrupted in the area.

Power lines snapped in the West Bengal cities of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which "are now in total darkness," state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to send troops to help, and summoned the National Disaster Management Authority for an emergency meeting. The air force sent five planes to help with rescue efforts.

In neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh, the quake sent residents rushing out of their homes, offices and shopping centers.

In Nepal's capital of Katmandu, members of parliament who were debating the national budget ran out of the assembly hall into a parking area. They returned 15 minutes later and resumed their session.

The quake was also felt as far as the Indian capital, with New Delhi residents also rushing out of shaking buildings.

http://news.yahoo.com/strong-quake-hits ... 16509.html

Strong quake hits northeastern India; 16 dead

The full extent of damage was not immediately known

updated 9/18/2011 2:57:41 PM ET

NEW DELHI — A strong earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal on Sunday night, killing at least 16 people, damaging buildings and sending lawmakers in Nepal's capital running into the streets.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, struck at 6:10 p.m. local time and was felt across northern and eastern India, including in the capital of New Delhi. It triggered at least two aftershocks of magnitude 6.1 and 5.3, Indian seismology official R.S. Dattatreyan said. He warned more aftershocks were possible.

At least five people in India's Sikkim state were killed and more than 50 were injured, according to the state's top official, Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso. The north Indian state of West Bengal reported four deaths, and Bihar state reported two. Nepal's government said five people died and dozens were hurt there, including two men and a child who were killed when a brick wall toppled outside the British Embassy in Nepal's capital, Katmandu.

The full extent of damage was not immediately known because the region is sparsely populated with many people living in remote areas now cut off by mudslides triggered by the quake, state police Chief Jasbir Singh told The Associated Press.

TV stations reported buildings buckled, sidewalks cracked and two major roads collapsed in Sikkim's state capital of Gangtok, 42 miles (68 kilometers) southeast of the quake's epicenter near the border with Nepal. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police said two of its buildings had collapsed in Gangtok.

Small army columns fanned out across the city of some 50,000 overnight to search for anyone pinned under fallen debris.

"We have sounded a high alert. Police are on the streets in Gangtok and other major towns," he said.

Electricity and some phone service was interrupted in the area.

Power lines snapped in the West Bengal cities of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which "are now in total darkness," state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, according to Press Trust of India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to send troops to help, and summoned the National Disaster Management Authority for an emergency meeting. The air force sent five planes to help with rescue efforts.

The region has been hit by major earthquakes in the past, including in 1950 and 1897.

In neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh, the quake Sunday night sent residents rushing out of their homes, offices and shopping centers.

In Katmandu, members of parliament who were debating the national budget ran out of the assembly hall into a parking area. They returned 15 minutes later and resumed their session.

The quake was also felt as far as the Indian capital, with New Delhi residents also rushing out of shaking buildings.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44568554/ns ... tral_asia/

Quake toll rises to 47, fiber link to Gangtok restored

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: September 20, 2011 00:13 IST

Gangtok: At least 47 people have died in India, most of them in Sikkim, others in neighbouring Bihar and West Bengal. The earthquake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter Scale and was centred on the Sikkim-Nepal border 64 kilometres north-west of Gangtok, is the region's worst in 60 years. Among the toughest parts of the recovery is the operation to re-open National Highway 31A which connects Sikkim to the rest of the country, and is needed to bring in food and other supplies.

At a hospital in Siliguri, a man being moved on a stretcher says he wants to share his story. "I was driving in my car," he said, "and suddenly there was this jolt. The windshield shattered, pieces of glass were flung at us, and our car started swerving."

12 people have also died in Nepal and Tibet, pushing the death toll to 54. Indian Home Secretary RK Singh said that number may rise as rescue and relief operations progress.

Heavy rain in the area caused landslides through the night and much of today, making it tough for doctors and others to reach the Western and Southern districts in Sikkim.

Nine helicopters are being used to airdrop food and other supplies to areas like Siliguri.

A breakthrough came late this afternoon when the Army was able to clear a crucial road from Siliguri in West Bengal to Gangtok.

More than 5000 Army jawans are being used to provide assistance to those affected. 2000 people have taken shelter at Army camps.

In Sikkim's capital, Gangtok, the devastation seems absolute. More than 100,000 buildings have been severely damaged. Government offices and hospitals have been left unusable. The Chief Minister cannot use his office. Water and power supply remain erratic; phone towers have been hit, making communication tough.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is headed to Darjeeling, said that her priority is to ensure that National Highways 31A and 55, damaged by landslides, are repaired urgently so that food and other supplies can be transported.

Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported that at least seven persons have been killed and 22 others injured in Tibet.

Meanwhile, a seismic observatory in Shillong said that an earthquake of 4.3 magnitude on the Richter scale shook parts of Meghalaya today.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/quake ... red-134843