Himalayan Earthquake Leaves Thousands Homeless on a Rainy Night

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Himalayan region of India, Nepal, and Tibet on the evening of Sunday September 18. The quake caused a massive domino effect of more than 100,00 collapsed houses and various mudslides that cut off power, water and other utilities to thousands of people. This made rescue efforts by helicopters and earth movers, and military extremely strenuous and communication with most villages unobtainable. Intense rains occurred and made the relief effort near impossible for a period of time, and left the homeless out in the stormy weather for a cold and miserable night.

Thousands of people are currently homeless and others are choosing to stay out of their homes for fear an aftershock will cause them to collapse. At least 5 aftershocks have been recorded so far. The Seattle Times reported that in Gangtok, India many of the residents are taking shelter in the open areas at the University and soccer stadium to protect themselves against these aftershocks. The death toll was reported to be 81, but will continue to rise as rescue workers reach villages that have been cut off by the disaster.




http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2016261501.html




http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iX2jeXsAw-L5eNjWO_uWTss_glhA?docId=1fbea8b8514845efb5e0372d048c4412


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016258727_apasindiaearthquake.html