Nepal earthquake: Bihar worst-hit with 45 deaths, 12 killed in UP and 3 in Bengal
New Delhi: At least 60 people have been killed and more than 100 people have been injured in India due to the powerful earthquake that struck neighbouring Nepal.
A government official in Bihar said at least 45 were dead and 133 injured in the seven districts that share a border with Nepal. 12 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh and three in West Bengal. Five NDRF teams have been sent to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to aid rescue.
Vacations for all government doctors have been cancelled to ensure that anyone injured gets adequate medical care, says UP official.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said all resources are being mobilised to help the Himalayan country.
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He said IAF has been pressed into service to take NDRF teams, doctors, clothes, medicines, water among others to Nepal, where nearly 1,500 people were killed after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale struck earlier in the day.
"As directed by Prime Minister, we have mobilised all resources to support Nepal. We have at present diverted three aircraft and two helicopters to carry NDRF team, doctors, food, water and medicine among others to Nepal," Parrikar said.
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He added that Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh is in touch with his Nepalese counterpart to extend any help that the nation might need as part of search and rescue operations.
Talking about the situation in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other affected states, Parrikar said he has directed all Army units and others to carry out rescue operation and extend full cooperation to local authorities.
As the news of the tragic earthquake in Nepal came in, the Defence Ministry had immediately put the Army, BRO and IAF assets on standby.
Read: Nepal earthquake: Flights to Kathmandu put on hold
Indian Air Force's C-130J Super Hercules has already landed at Kathmandu carrying 39 NDRF personnel and 3.5 tonnes of relief material.
Defence sources said two Indian Army field hospitals and two Engineers Task Force teams have been put on emergency standby to leave for Nepal.
A C-17 heavy jet aircraft with 40 rapid action medical team (RAMT) personnel and paramedics has also being pressed into service.Indian Embassy in Nepal: 977-1-4410900 / 4414990 / 4411699
24x7, Emergency Contact Number - 977-1-4423702
Mobile no: 9851107021
New Delhi
High intensity quake shook the national capital and adjoining areas prompting people to rush out of offices and homes and leading to restriction of metro services. However, no loss of life or property damage was reported in any part of the city.
According to a senior Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official, services were not suspended but were put on restricted mode by slowing the speed of the metro trains, causing a little delay in the services.
The DMRC claimed that so far they have not received any reports of damage or crack in the metro line. We will carry out inspection to check if earthquake caused any damage to the property, the official said.
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According to a senior government official, all emergency support functionaries including police, civic agencies, hospitals and fire services have been alerted.
Civil defence volunteers have been alerted and instructed to do patrolling in their areas, the official said. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed the people to maintain calm.
Earthquake tremors in Delhi. I appeal to people to maintain calm. Officials out in the field to assess the situation.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 25, 2015The netizens also shared their experiences on the social media and the hashtag #earthquake was trending.
Some residents also complained of mobile network congestion as they were trying to reach their friends and relatives soon after the earthquake.
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Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, the tremors were felt in Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Ajmer, Sikar and Bundi. In Jaipur, people in Bapu Nagar, Barkat Nagar, Sodala and Jhotwara rushed out of their buildings in panic. However, no loss to life or property was reported. No loss of life or property was reported from anywhere in Haryana and Punjab, which also felt the tremors.
Read: Historic Dharara Tower collapses in Kathmandu after 7.9 earthquake
West Bengal
The tremors of the earthquake which had its epicentre in Nepal region was felt in the city and other parts of the Eastern region. Hundreds of people ran out of their homes and offices and assembled on the streets. The tremors were felt in various parts of the city especially in Lake Town, Salt Lake, Dalhousie and Park Street area. Reports from the districts said it was also experienced in Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, East Midnapore and Nadia district.
Three persons were killed and atleast 69, including 43 school children, were injured while several buildings developed cracks in West Bengal after a high intensity earthquake rocked several parts of the country and Nepal today.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the "extensive damage" caused by the earthquake.
The chief minister who chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation at Nabanna, the state secretariat, told reporters that three persons lost their lives in the earthquake in north Bengal.
A person identified as M Rai was killed in Jalpaiguri, while another Rukban Khatun was killed in Naxalbari in Darjeeling district. The third person, a construction worker was killed in Siliguri.
Officials and crew in offshore rigs in Bay of Bengal including several places like Kakinada, P.Gannavaram, Amalapuram, Mummidivaram, Katrenikona and other places felt tremors. According to offshore sources, it occurred around 11.44 am about five to six seconds. The crew in offshore rigs and oil exploration company employees sent messages and whatsapp messages to their bosses and their colleagues on the earthquake. One of the message is that severe earthquake felt at filed by jack up rigs’.
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N.Kiran Kumar, an offshore services businessman who is residing at Wood rose apartments. Some of the people felt that their blood pressure has been increased at once as they felt it.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that state government is monitoring the situation closely and urged people to stay calm in the wake of the earthquake.
We are monitoring situation closely in Bengal specially in Darjeeling/Siliguri. Spoke to Sr Disaster Management team & others #earthquake
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 25, 2015"My prayers with the people of Nepal and across India after the massive earthquake. Hope everyone is safe. Stay calm," she said in the micro-blogging site.
My prayers with the people of #Nepal and across India after the massive #earthquake. Hope everyone is safe. Stay calm
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 25, 2015Bihar
At least 45 persons were killed and 133 injured in roof and wall collapse in Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cut short his visit to New Delhi to reach state. Kumar spoke to Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, state police chief P K Thakur and directed them to alert people particularly of areas bordering Nepal.
The DGP said that in deference of the CM's direction, all police heads of the districts have been directed to send alerts to police stations on wireless and assess the extent of damage.
Speaker of Bihar Assembly Uday Narayan Choudhary and Minister Shyam Rajak ran out in the open during a programme at Kurji Holy Hospital in the state capital.
Kochi
Low intensity tremor was also felt in some parts of Kochi, triggering panic among people residing in high rise buildings, officials said.
Officials said experts in the Seismology Department are assessing whether it was an after effect of the high-intensity quake that rocked Delhi and many parts of East and North India.
"According to information, it was a low intensity earthquake of magnitude less than three on the Richter scale. Initial inputs say that mild tremors were felt some parts of Kochi city," Ernakulam Additional District Magistrate B Ramachandran said.
Odisha
Tremors were felt in several parts of Odisha triggering panic among the people.
The intensity in Odisha was about two MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale, about 875 km north-north-west of Bhubaneswar, MeT officials said.
Apart from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, the tremor was felt in Cuttack, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Mayurbhanj, Berhampur, Khurda and Sambalpur, according to reports reaching here.
People in high-rise buildings in the state capital and other places were seen moving out as they noticed furniture and ceiling fans were swaying.
Sikkim
A series of minor landslides have been reported from various places in the state they said, but there was no report of any loss of life so far, officials said.
Sikkim has been experiencing minor jolts continuously for the past three days, met department said.
Manipur
The tremor, which shook the East and other parts of India, was also felt in Manipur also.
There was no report of casualties or damage to property in the quake, a state official said. The quake was felt at 11:40 am.
