April 26, 2015
Today, another earthquake of 6.9 magnitude with a 10 kilometer depth shook Kathmandu at 12:56. The epicenter was in Banepa, approximately 22 kilometers from the nation’s capital.
The death toll is now 2500 and it is expected to rise; at least 5000 are injured.
Scores of centuries-old historical monuments, including the iconic Dharahara of Kathmandu, were reduced to rubble in the massive earthquake that hit the country on Saturday afternoon.
The combined earthquakes and attendant aftershocks have destroyed around 80 percent of the temples in Basantapur Durbar Square. Several temples, including Kasthamandap, Panchtale temple, the nine-storey Basantapur Durbar, the Dasa Avtar temple, Krishna Mandir and two dewals located behind the Shiva Parvati temple, were demolished by the quake. Kasthamandap, a temple that inspired the name Kathmandu, is an early 16th century wooden monument. A few other monuments, including the Kumari Temple and the Taleju Bhawani, among others, have partially collapsed.
Outside the Valley, the Manakamana Temple in Gorkha, the Gorkha Durbar, the Palanchowk Bhagwati, in Kavrepalanchowk, the Rani Mahal in Palpa, the Janaki Mandir in Janakpur, the Churiyamai in Makwanpur, the Dolakha Bhimsensthan in Dolakha, and the Nuwakot Durbar were partially destroyed.
Prushottam Lochan Shrestha, a historian, said these monuments could be lost forever, as rebuilding them is technically difficult and expensive.
“We have lost most of the monuments that had been designated as World Heritage Sites
in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.
They cannot be restored to their original states,” said Shrestha.
PATAN BEFORE AND AFTER:
BHAKTAPUR BEFORE AND AFTER:
RESCUES IN KATHMANDU:
Although damage has been reported on the Baudhanath Stupa, the extent of damage has not been verified.
For detailed scientific information concerning the earthquakes
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