The number of houses destroyed in Nepal quake is over 1,60,000, nearly twice the number of households wrecked in the 1934’s deadly temblor that has been the country’s worst disaster of all times. In worst-affected districts like Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk, the damage is even more extensive, with up to 90 per cent of houses destroyed, according to a situation report released by the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).
“According to the Government, the earthquake destroyed 1,60,786 houses and damaged 1,43,642 (as of May 1). The government is currently projecting this caseload to increase to a total number of 5,00,000 houses destroyed,” it said. On April 25, a powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake, with its epicentre located at about 80 km north-west of Kathmandu, hit the country and left a trail of death and devastation, killing over 7,000 and injuring 14,123 others.
Among the affected districts, Sindhupal chowk has reported the maximum casualties with over 2,000 deaths, and several hundreds have died in Gorkha, where the epicentre of the deadly quake lay that fateful day. The report has also estimated $415 million as needed for vital humanitarian relief in the quake-ravaged country.
According to the report, the number of houses wrecked in the earthquake 81 years ago stood at 80,893. The 1934 Great Nepal-Bihar Earthquake, with its epicentre about 9.5 km south of Mt Everest, had killed several thousands people on both sides of the Himalayas and practically flattened Kathmandu Valley besides levelling several districts in Bihar like Munger, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga.