Powerful Magnitude-7.8 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Death Toll Over 900 #NepalEarthquake

NEW DELHI—A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the Nepali capital, Katmandu, on Saturday, killing hundreds of people and toppling buildings, authorities said.

Nepal’s police put the death toll at nearly 900 but said it was expected to rise as search-and-rescue teams fanned out across the city and its surrounding valley, home to about 2.5 million people.

“There has been a huge impact all over the country and we are assessing the situation,” said Lakshmi Prasad Dhakal, a spokesman for the Home Ministry. “A lot of people are feared trapped inside the debris of the buildings.”

The quake and a series of serious aftershocks delivered a severe blow to Nepal, one of the world’s poorest and least-developed nations, and one that has faced a recent wave of political turmoil amid debate over a new constitution.

“I have been in earthquakes before, but this was the mother of all earthquakes,” said Prithivi Pande, a 60-year-old banker in Katmandu. “It went on and on and on. Everything was falling off the walls.”

The quakes triggered an avalanche that swept through base camp at Mount Everest in the Himalayas of northern Nepal, where international mountaineers and their local guides were preparing to climb the world’s highest peak.