The picture below shows a young monk standing on a damaged house in Sikkim, North India, after the 6.9 magnitude earthquake on 19th, September 2011. The quake was also recorded in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tibet which took lives of 54. May Dorje Shugden protect those who have passed away and guide those injured to the speediest recovery!
For more information on this earthquake, you can read the following article:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Earthquake-toll-74-as-rain-slides-hamper-rescue/articleshow/10046034.cmsEarthquake toll 74 as rain, slides hamper rescueAmalendu Kundu & Caesar Mandal, TNN | Sep 20, 2011, 12.30AM IST
SINGTAM (SIKKIM)/GANGTOK: Rescuers battled heavy rains and cleared dozens of landslides while making their way to Sikkim, the ground zero of Sunday evening's 6.8 magnitude earthquake that has so far claimed 74 lives across three countries - India, Nepal and China (Tibet).
According to late-night reports, at least 58 people were killed and hundreds injured in Sikkim, Bengal and Bihar, in addition to nine deaths in Nepal and seven in Tibet. The toll is likely to rise, say rescuers. In Sikkim, the toll had reached 41. The maximum casualties have been in Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang in north Sikkim. Ten persons have died in Bengal and seven in Bihar.
TOI reached some of the worst-affected areas, following rescue convoys as they battled impossible odds. Every now and then progress was halted by massive landslides. Virtually nothing is left intact on the 100-km Gangtok-Chungthang road. NH-31A, the highway to Gangtok, was cleared by late afternoon. Roads and bridges between Meeli and Namchi in south Sikkim and Rawangla in west Sikkim have been severely damaged. Tourists have been warned not to venture beyond Gangtok.
Nearly 6,000 Army and paramilitary forces personnel were deployed for relief operations in Sikkim but till Monday evening only a handful could reach Mangan, the quake's epicenter, and surrounding areas of north and west Sikkim, where the maximum damage has been reported.
The majority of the force, with equipment and vital supplies, were stuck at various locations with fallen trees, downed power lines and landslides - evidence of the deadliest earthquake to hit India in a decade - making major routes inaccessible. "The biggest challenge now is to get rescue teams to the affected areas," said Sikkim information minister C B Karki.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team that landed at Bagdogra (near Siliguri in north Bengal) early on Monday had to wait till afternoon for the Gangtok road to be cleared. The team spent the night in Gangtok from where they will proceed to Mangan on Tuesday morning, hoping to reach the worst-hit areas by late evening.
"Our first task will be to restore communications links. Till then, the extent of damage will not be known," an officer said.
The NH31, the lifeline to the Northeast, was a trail of devastation. TOI saw a car crushed like a matchbox on the highway. The quake and landslides hit with such force that its tyres had simply exploded.
Through the day, torrential rain and low clouds hampered movement of air supplies and threatened to trigger more mudslides. More rain is forecast for Tuesday in Sikkim and north Bengal.
Nearly everyone in Sikkim and Darjeeling spent Sunday night in the open as aftershocks triggered fears of a second wave of destruction. The earthquake damaged more than 1 lakh of the 1.2 lakh houses in Gangtok. Key buildings like the state secretariat, police headquarters and hospital have developed cracks.
Meanwhile, Nepal began to take stock of the havoc created by Sunday's earthquake, the biggest since 1934. There were reports of the human toll rising to nine, with some claiming 10 deaths. The home ministry and police were yet to officially confirm the figures.
In Sikkim, while the Army brought in special forces personnel and ordered troops from high-altitude camps to trek to remote parts, it was clear that top officials had no clear idea of the extent of damage. Army casualties may also go up as many of the high-altitude camps along the Line of Actual Control with Tibet are close to the epicentre.
Despite the hurdles, a few Army teams worked through Sunday night to reach the north and east Sikkim, clearing concrete slabs, bricks and mud to rescue people trapped under the debris of their own houses flattened by the quake. Late in the night, the Army rescued 14 tourists from north Sikkim, who are now being treated at a military hospital in Chungthang.
Power, water and telecommunication lines continue to be affected. Power was restored in Gangtok and some other areas after engineers gave the go-ahead to the Teesta unit. Schools will be shut for three days and offices have been asked to function only if the buildings have been declared safe.
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee reached out to the affected areas in Kurseong on Monday, and promised all help to restore normal life. The Bengal government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead. Mamata may visit Sikkim on Tuesday.
Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling held an emergency meeting with police chiefs and department secretaries to take stock of relief and rescue operations. The families of the dead will get a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and the injured Rs 50,000, he said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for families of those who had died and Rs 1 lakh each for the seriously injured.
Two top Army officers - 33 Corps commander Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia and GOC 17 Mountain Division Maj Gen SL Narsimhan - are stationed in Gangtok to oversee operations in which over 2,000 officers and soldiers have been deployed. "Our men have reached most of the populated areas in north and east Sikkim and most of the casualties have been evacuated. But there are regions in the west and south that we are yet to reach," Narsimhan said.
The IAF had dispatched two C-130J Hercules aircraft with 203 NDRF personnel, sniffer dogs, rescue teams, medical personnel and nine tonnes of relief materials including tents, medicines and food stocks from Hindon to Bagdogra within hours of the quake.
An Mi-17 helicopter with medical team and relief equipment also took off from Bagdogra for Gangtok and two Cheetah helicopters from Bagdogra carried out aerial recce missions to assess the damage. One IL-76 with 100 personnel of the No. 2 NDRF battalion and eight tonnes of material flew from Chandigarh to Bagdogra this morning and will make another sortie on Monday night.
In Darjeeling, also badly hit the earthquake, 15 Army columns have been deployed in Kalimpong, Algarah, Rishi, Rorathang and Padamchea while four more have been kept in Darjeeling town.
