KATHMANDU,
Nepal — A powerful aftershock shook Nepal on Sunday, making buildings
sway and sending panicked Kathmandu residents running into the streets a
day after a massive earthquake left at least 1,900 people dead.
The
cawing of crows mixed with terrified screams as the aftershock pummeled
the capital city early Sunday afternoon. At magnitude 6.7, it was
strong enough to feel like an another earthquake, and came as planeloads
of supplies, doctors and relief workers from neighboring countries
began arriving in this poor Himalayan nation.
Saturday's
magnitude 7.8 earthquake reached from Kathmandu to small villages and
to the slopes of Mount Everest, triggering an avalanche that buried part
of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing to make their
summit attempts. At least 17 people died there and 61 were injured.
The
earthquake centered outside Kathmandu, the capital, was the worst to
hit the South Asian nation in over 80 years. It destroyed swaths of the
oldest neighborhoods of Kathmandu, and was strong enough to be felt all
across parts of India, Bangladesh, China's region of Tibet and Pakistan.
By Sunday morning, authorities said at least 1,970 people had died, all
but 60 of them in Nepal. At least 721 of them died in Kathmandu alone,
and the number of injured nationwide was upward of 5,000.
But
outside of the oldest neighborhoods, many in Kathmandu were surprised
by how few modern structures — the city is largely a collection of
small, poorly constructed brick apartment buildings — collapsed in the
quake. While aid workers cautioned that many buildings could have
sustained serious structural damage, it was also clear that the death
toll would have been far higher had more buildings caved in.
On a flight into Kathmandu on Sunday morning, an AP correspondent was unable to spot any collapsed buildings.
Aid
workers also warned that the situation could be far worse near the
epicenter. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered near
Lamjung, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu, in the
Gorkha district.
Roads
to that area were blocked by landslides, hindering rescue teams, said
chief district official Prakash Subedi. Teams were trekking through
mountain trails to reach remote villages, and helicopters would also be
deployed, he said by telephone.
The
aid group World Vision said in a statement that remote mountain
communities, including in Gorkha, were totally unprepared for the level
of destruction caused by the earthquake.
Villages
near the epicenter "are literally perched on the sides of large
mountain faces and are made from simple stone and rock construction.
Many of these villages are only accessible by 4WD and then foot, with
some villages hours and even entire days' walks away from main roads at
the best of times," the group's local staff member, Matt Darvas, said in
the statement.
He said he was hearing that many of the villages may have been completely buried by rock falls.
"It will likely be helicopter access only for these remote villages," he said.
Nepal's worst recorded earthquake in 1934 measured 8.0 and all but destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
With
people fearing more quakes, tens of thousands of Nepalese spent
Saturday night outside under chilly skies, and were jolted awake by
strong aftershocks early Sunday.
"There
were at least three big quakes at night and early morning. How can we
feel safe? This is never-ending and everyone is scared and worried,"
said Kathmandu resident Sundar Sah. "I hardly got much sleep. I was
waking up every few hours and glad that I was alive."
As
day broke, rescuers aided by international teams set out to dig through
rubble of buildings — concrete slabs, bricks, iron beams, wood — to
look for survivors. Most areas were without power and water. The United
Nations said hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley were overcrowded, and
running out of emergency supplies and space to store corpses.
Plumes
of smoke, meanwhile, rose above the capital as friends, relatives and
others gathered by the river to quickly cremate loved ones' remains.
In
the Kalanki neighborhood, police rescuers finally extricated a man
lying under a dead person, both of them buried beneath a pile of
concrete slabs and iron beams. Before his rescue, his family members
stood nearby, crying and praying. Police said the man's legs and hips
were totally crushed.
The
quake will likely put a huge strain on the resources of this
impoverished country best known for Everest, the highest mountain in the
world. The economy of Nepal, a nation of 27.8 million people, relies
heavily on tourism, principally trekking and Himalayan mountain
climbing.
With
Kathmandu airport reopened, the first aid flights began delivering aid
supplies. The first to respond were Nepal's neighbors — India, China and
Pakistan, all of which have been jockeying for influence over the
landlocked nation. Still, Nepal remains closest to India with which it
shares deep political, cultural and religious ties.
Indian
air force planes landed Sunday with 43 tons of relief material,
including tents and food, and nearly 200 rescuers, India's External
Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said. The planes were returning
to New Delhi with Indian nationals stranded in Kathmandu. More aid
flights were planned for Sunday.
A 62-member Chinese search and rescue team also arrived Sunday.
Pakistan
prepared to send four C-130 aircraft, carrying a 30-bed temporary
hospital comprising army doctors, surgeons and specialists. An urban
search and rescue team was also sent with ground-penetrating radars,
concrete cutters and sniffing dogs. Pakistan was also sending 2,000
ready-to-eat meal packs, water bottles, medicines, 200 tents, 600
blankets and other necessary items.
When
the earth first shook, residents fled homes and buildings in panic as
walls tumbled, trees swayed, power lines came crashing down and large
cracks opened up on streets. After the chaos of Saturday — when little
organized rescue and relief was seen — there was more order on Sunday as
rescue teams fanned out across the city.
Workers
were sending out tents and relief goods in trucks and helicopters, said
disaster management official Rameshwar Dangal. He said government and
private schools have been turned into shelters.
Mukesh
Kafle, the head of the Nepal Electricity Authority, said power has been
restored fully to main government offices, the airport and hospitals.
Among
the destroyed buildings in Kathmandu was the nine-story Dharahara
Tower, a Kathmandu landmark built by Nepal's royal rulers as a
watchtower in the 1800s and a UNESCO-recognized historical monument. It
was reduced to rubble and there were reports of people trapped
underneath.
The
Kathmandu Valley is listed as a World Heritage site. The Buddhist
stupas, public squares and Hindu temples are some of the most well-known
sites in Kathmandu, and now some of the most deeply mourned.
The
head of the U.N. cultural agency, Irina Bokova, said in a statement
that UNESCO was ready to help Nepal rebuild from "extensive damage,
including to historic monuments and buildings of the Kathmandu Valley."
Nepali
journalist and author Shiwani Neupane tweeted: "The sadness is sinking
in. We have lost our temples, our history, the places we grew up."
___
Associated Press writers Muneeza Naqvi and Tim Sullivan in New Delhi contributed to this report.
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