A 7.3 magnitude earthquake reportedly stuck Nepal killing at least 50 people and triggering panic in the Himalayan country already devastated by a massive temblor less than three weeks back that had claimed over 8,000 lives. Even though the country has been experiencing several after-shocks after the initial seismic activity, the latest tremor which occurred on Tuesday can in no way be considered as an aftershock but is a full-fledged earthquake which read 7.3 on the Richter scale.
It is generally observed that whenever people have lost their belongings in an earthquake they tend to go back to the ruins of their homes to retrieve whatever belongings they can possibly can. This can prove to be very dangerous. Structures become weak as a result of an earthquake and can collapse at any time when the people are retrieving whatever is left of their belongings. There is no guarantee that another earthquake will not follow after the initial seismic activity. This has occurred in Nepal.
Then there are after-shocks which at times can be quite significant and bring down the structures which have become weak as a result of the earthquake. It is extremely dangerous to enter an earthquake weakened structure. It is understood that in Nepal several people have lost their lives while trying to collect their belongings from the structures weakened by the earthquake. Hence it is absolutely necessary for the authorities to cordon off the areas which have been devastated by the earthquake so that the survivors do not go back to whatever is left of their homes which have been destroyed to retrieve any belongings they can lay their hands on.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
