13 killed as powerful quake jolts North East

New Delhi, September 18, 2011
Source - The Hindu

A child injured in a building collapse, following tremors in West Bengal, being treated at a hospital in Siliguri on Sunday.

A powerful earthquake with a 6.8 magnitude jolted Sikkim and several areas of northeast on Sunday leaving at least 13 persons dead and several injured besides causing extensive damage to several buildings.

The epicentre of the quake — the biggest in two decades — was located at Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 km from Gangtok on Sikkim—Nepal border.

Seven persons were killed in Sikkim — two at Singtham in East district, two in Rishi in West district and one at Mangan in North district, Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso told PTI. Mr. Gyatso said two others had also died in other places, but could not give details.

In neighbouring West Bengal four deaths were reported — three in Darjeeling district and one in Jalpaiguri district, Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh said. Of the deaths in Darjeeling district, one each occurred in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Siliguri sub-divisions, Mr. Ghosh said.

In Bihar, two persons were killed in Nalanda and Darbhanga districts, official sources said. A five-year-old girl and a youth were the two victims, they said.

The National Disaster Relief Force in on way to Sikkim and would reach Sikkim by Monday, Mr. Gyatso said.

Many tall buildings developed cracks in Gangtok and Darjeeling and window panes shattered as people came out in large numbers in panic. The earthquake claimed one life at Singtham in East Sikkim district, while another died just outside Singtham.

The epicentre of the quake — the biggest in two decades — was located at Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 km from Gangtok on Sikkim—Nepal border.

Tremors were felt in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Several buildings developed major cracks in the state as personnel of the Disaster Management were deployed, Mr. Gyatso said.

Two buildings of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) collapsed in Pegong area though there was no immediate report of any casualty, a senior official said.

Three after shocks of 5.7, 5.3 and 4.6 magnitude on the Richter Scale were felt in the region within 30 minutes of the first quake.

“Tremors were felt between 30 seconds to one minute in some parts of Sikkim, including Gangtok,” Shailesh Nayak, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said in Delhi.

Mr. Gyatso described it as “a massive earthquake. We have alerted the armed forced and the paramilitary personnel.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and offered help in all possible ways, including availability of defence forces.

The Prime Minister directed Cabinet Secretary to call an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority, PMO sources said.

IAF planes pressed into service

Five IAF aircraft have been pressed into service for relief operations in quake-hit Sikkim.

While two C-130J Hercules aircraft have been deployed from Hindon to Bagdogra airbase, two AN-32 aircraft along with another Avro aircraft have been sent for the earthquake relief operations in Sikkim, an Indian Air Force spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that helicopters, if required, could be sent from Eastern Air Command areas for the relief operations.

A government spokesman, however, said while one aircraft is pressed into service from Palam to Bagdogra and one from Kolkata to Bagdogra, along with personnel of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) and equipment, for the relief operations.

From Bagdogra airbase, the spokesman added, the NDRF would go by road which is being facilitated by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the West Bengal Government.

The quake which was felt for some seconds around 6:10 pm triggered panic among the people who were enjoying their Sunday evening.

NDRF teams being sent

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force — five each from Delhi and Kolkata — are being sent to assist in the relief and rescue operations, R. K. Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Disaster Management, in the Home Ministry, said.

R.S. Basnet, Principal Secretary to Sikkim Chief Minister’s Office said Army’s assistance has been sought.

A woman was seriously injured in Gangtok near a cinema hall in the market area when stones from an wall fell on her, he said.

Reports said a building housing a small hotel in Sintam in East Sikkim district collapsed and people were being evacuated. Another house collapsed in Dikchu town in the same district. A portion of the market at Dikchu also collapsed.

Several buildings in Gangtok developed major cracks and people were seen moving to the Paljor stadium and other open areas.

Power and water supply connections got snapped and continuous rains during the last three days worsened the situation.

Around 200 people have been brought to the ITBP relief camp in Gangtok.

Army columns in small teams were deployed in rescue mission across Sikkim. The columns comprised medical teams with first aid, engineer detachments and relief and rescue units, an army official said.

Tremors felt in neighbouring states

One person was killed when a mud house collapsed in Milan tea garden due to earthquake in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, District Magistrate S. Mahapatra said. The deceased, around 20 years old, has not been identified, he said.

National Highway 31 developed a major crack between Maynaguri and Lataguri area in the district.

People in Jalpaiguri town, where power supply and telephone communication snapped, rushed out of their houses and gathered on the roads and open

In the national capital, the tremor was felt in certain parts — the second such experience within a fortnight after Delhiites were jolted around midnight on September 7.

Delhi’s suburb Gurgaon and some other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) experienced very mild tremor.

The quake was also felt in various parts of Bihar, a Patna report said. As buildings shook, people rushed out to open places.

A report from Darbhanga district in north Bihar said the quake was felt there too. The tremor was also felt in Madhubani, Samastipur, Nawada, Munger and other districts.

Neighbouring Jharkhand also felt the shock, according to a Ranchi report.

“We saw computers, chairs and tables rattling in our office,” said Manu Singh and Binod Singh, who were among those who rushed out in the open.

People in Sahebganj and Giridih also experienced the tremor.

In the north, besides the national capital, the tremors were felt in Jaipur and nearby areas of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Panic gripped people in Lucknow and some other places in Uttar Pradesh where the quake was also felt. The tremors were felt in Mau, Azamgarh, Deoria, Ballia and other towns.

The earthquake was also experienced in parts of Haryana and Chandigarh where the intensity was mild.

A Bhopal report said reports of tremors were received from Gwalior, Bhopal, Hoshangabad and other parts of Madhya Pradesh.

11 dead in India, Nepal after magnitude 6.9 quake

By the CNN Wire Staff
September 18, 2011 1:44 p.m. EDT
Source - CNN News

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* NEW: 6 people are dead in India, 5 in Nepal
* A wall of the British embassy in Kathmandu collapses, killing 3
* The quake struck India's mountainous north region near the Nepal border
* It struck at 6:10 p.m. local time

Nepalese personnel in Kathmandu stand on the rubble of a British Embassy wall that collapsed in Sunday's earthquake

New Delhi (CNN) -- Eleven people -- six in India and five in Nepal -- died when a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck the northern Indian state of Sikkim near the border between the two nations Sunday night, police said.

Three died in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu and two in the town of Dharan, about 217 miles east of Kathmandu, police said in a statement. About a dozen people were injured when they jumped from their houses during the quake, police said.

The three in Kathmandu died when a wall of the British embassy collapsed, according to Kedar Rijal, Kathmandu police chief. They included an 8-year-old girl, her father and a third person.

The British Foreign Office confirmed that a "compound perimeter wall" of the embassy collapsed, saying the ambassador has met with the community and offered condolences.

In India, six people died and 33 were injured, said Karma Gyatso, Sikkim's chief secretary. At least two buildings have collapsed, and others developed cracks, he said. The damage was still being assessed, and rescue efforts were under way, he said.

A total of three quakes struck the region. The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the largest quake at 6.8 magnitude, later upgrading it to a 6.9, and the other two at magnitudes 4.8 and 4.6. All three occurred within an hour and 15 minutes, the USGS said. The India Meteorological Department said the quakes were 6.8 magnitude, 5.7 magnitude and 5.3 magnitude.

The quakes were in the country's mountainous region near the Nepal border, the department said.

Power outages and downed phone lines were reported in Sikkim, along with reports of landslides and blocked roads, authorities said.

Emergency crews were dispatched from different locations to the region, India's home ministry said in an alert to reporters. At least four fighter jets were carrying rescue officers to a neighboring region, where they travel by road to Gangtok, Sikkim's capital, according to the alert.

No tsunami warning was issued. The earthquake, which struck at 6:10 p.m. local time (8:40 a.m. ET), was 12.2 miles below the earth's surface, according to the USGS.

The quake's epicenter was about 42 miles from the city of Gangtok and 169 miles east of Kathmandu, according to the geological survey.

CNN's Harmeet Singh, Manesh Shrestha and Bharati Naik contributed to this report.

Map locates Sikkim, India, where an earthquake has occurred.



Strong quake hits India, Nepal; 16 dead
By WASBIR HUSSAIN, Associated Press
Source

Thanks D_G, I know people in this area.

There was a similar earthquake on Vancouver Island recently, that did not do that much damage, must be the construction of the buildings.