Earthquake hits Sikkim
 

I just saw this story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/wo...er=rss&emc=rss

Having seen the roads and how vertical the terrain is, I'm wondering just how bad it is in Sikkim. Much of Sikkim is sparsely populated and many villages are accessible only via walking trails, so it may be a while before they know just how much damage there is.

Strongest earthquake in that area for years. Damage in Tibet as well.

Lots more info at India Mike. Power knocked out in Gangtok, two major roads in Gangtok collapsed, a number of deaths reported.

What do you hear about Tibet, Ray?

People running out of their houses in Lhasa, that sort. Not sure actual damages...

Sikkim has been effectively cut off from the rest of India due to landslides on the road from Bagdogra to Gangtok 35 slides on that road alone). But it is expected that the road will be passable within a couple of days. North Sikkim, closest to the epicenter, is still out of contact. About half of the cell towers in the country were damaged, so remote areas have no communications.

Lots of damage in Nepal.

Latest NYT article on the quake:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/wo...er=rss&emc=rss

Thanks for posting this, Kathie. As you know, we are planning a trip to Sikkim next year.

Craig, I thought of you and Jeane when I saw this.

And situations like these, Kathie, are <i>why</i> they have the famous helicopter from Bagdogra to Gangtok...

There were also reports of landslides following the earthquake in areas around Sikkim and also Darjeeling. Two major landslides have been reported from Sikkim's capital, Gangtok cutting off the Naitonal Highway. Also, around 300 rescue workers from the National Disaster Response Force were stuck at Bagdogra Airport as chopper services to Gangtok have been suspended due to inclement weather, officials said.

Seems like a major disaster there, reports of whole villages having disappeared.

It is a major disaster in Sikkim. Current fatality counts are about 100 in Sikkim. There are certainly villages still cut off from communications, but reliable reports from within Sikkim have not reported on the disappearance of whole villages. Do you have a source for this report, Jillian?

There are also a lot of other reports on the ndtv site.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/qu...help-135132&cp

Nice links. I've been following all of this over at India MIke and at the website for the Sikkim newspaper.

I don't see anything about whole villages disappearing, though that has been a worry because so many villages are so far off the grid.

The huge hydro project under construction account for at least a score of the deaths, as workers were inside a tunnel drilled into the mountains at the time of the quake. It is believed that none of them survived.

The Sikkimese people are so lovely - I am so sad for their tragedy.