The Himalayan Earthquake That Struck Nepal, Tibet and parts of North India

 Nepal, parts of Tibet and several states in North India were hit by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake on Saturday morning that has resulted in widespread devastation and loss of life. People are scared, there are many who are still alive but not yet rescued from rubble, others who might be safe but have lost contact with their friends and family.

At times like these, it is very easy for rumors to spread, especially through social networking sites and apps like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. Immediately after the earthquake, there were rumors being spread which resulted in widespread fear which kept people out of their homes and offices. Here's the Indian Express Report on Rumors that were spread. Please do not spread rumors using social networks.

Instead let's use these platforms for aiding rescue and relief by spreading relevant information about helpline numbers, information about fund donations, donation of material, etc.

The most important and extensive information on everything that general public, rescue and relief workers, volunteers and government agencies would find very useful is from The Humanitarian Data Exchange website, which UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Asia and the Pacific is using to direct it's operations in the affected areas.

Here are few other options for you to support in rescue and relief:

1. All the relevant information about this earthquake on United States Geological Survey webpage

2. To locate or know about missing person, please follow The Logical Indian's FB post where they have compiled a list of things you can do if you are trying to know about a friend/family member or are looking to volunteer.

3. Here's Quartz India's post showing how you can help.

4. You can follow The Guardian's Rolling Report on Nepal Earthquake.

5. Here's MEA India's press release mentioning contact details of the Control Room they've set up in South Block in response to the Nepal Earthquake.



6. You can follow NDTV India's Live Updates on the Earthquake.

7. Indian Express's Report on Predicting quakes yet to come of age.

8. Here are some useful twitter accounts to follow regarding information related to the earthquake: Shiv Aroor

Narendra Modi

Vikas Swarup

Sushma Swaraj

Embassy of India Kathmandu

Asian News International

 Sitanshu Kar

Do follow the twitter hashtags like #NepalEarthQuake and #NepalQuake to keep receiving all updates and information about this earthquake.