Second Deadly Earthquake Sends Nepalis Scrambling for Open Spaces · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

A fresh 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Tuesday. More than 50 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in the Himalayan country and neighbouring states, as many buildings already weakened by a much bigger quake last month were brought down. Image by Sumit Shrestha. Copyright Demotix (12/5/2015)
Just as Nepal was coming back to normalcy following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country on April 25, a second quake of 7.3 magnitude hit the country again on May 12.
Journalist Narendra Raule tweeted:
Many people in the street. Big earthquake in #Nepal. #EarthquakeAgain #Nepal #NepalQuake
— Narendra Raule (@NRaule) May 12, 2015
This time it was a weekday. On April 25, it was Saturday and people were in their homes. But on May 12, most were in their workplaces. There was a mayhem of traffic on the streets after the earthquake.
More than 8,000 people were killed in the April 25 temblor. Fifty-seven deaths have been reported so far in this quake, with more than a thousand injured. Dolakha district has been hit hard, with 34 reported deaths and 90 per cent houses collapsed, as per the preliminary information collected by Nepal Police.
Kashish Das Shrestha and social media users posted pictures from different parts of Kathmandu.
#NepalEarhquake April 25 (above) and May 12. pic.twitter.com/ZUHEOstnXr
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) May 12, 2015
This building collapsed in Naya Bus Park today's quake; Nepali security forces working to rescue elderly woman inside pic.twitter.com/B1W4yW5rJc
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) May 12, 2015
Another #EarthquakeInNepal shocking images from helicopter heading towards #Everest region pic.twitter.com/lrDzaL6mAX
— DOCTORS FOR NEPAL (@DoctorsForNepal) May 12, 2015
Sindhupalchok district, which took a hit in the April 25 quake, suffered more from the second one. Nine deaths have been reported there.
Scenes from Chautara, Sindhupalchowk after today's #NepalQuake. Pics @tinokreutzer pic.twitter.com/SYoTmv2vQ5
— Ujjwal Acharya (@UjjwalAcharya) May 12, 2015
Likewise, the second earthquake worsened life in Bhaktapur, which had seen huge amounts of damage by the previous earthquake.
People who had returned to their homes from their makeshift tents went back to their tents in open spaces.
#Kathmandu going back to the tents post #NepalEarthquakeAgain pic.twitter.com/WCYCvF3gZM
— myRepública (@RepublicaNepal) May 12, 2015
Here we go again. As people were only about to get normal, #NepalEarthquakeAgain pushed them out of their house. pic.twitter.com/XgkGzugW6h
— Templ_Monk (@Templ_Monk) May 12, 2015
Couldn't dare to stay inside! Back to tent to live wid nature- open field, starry night, mosquitoes… #NepalEarthquake2
— Smita Poudel (@Smita_Poudel) May 12, 2015
Popular online portal Onlinekhabar posted a photo story on the plight of people spending the night under the open skies.
Last week, the government of Nepal had requested that foreign relief and rescue workers return back to their countries as the situation was normalizing and the rest could be handled by the government itself. With teams from many countries already going home, the rescue and relief will be a tough task.
#Nepal jumped the gun by sending home foreign help. Relief will be an even more arduous task now. #NepalEarthquakeAgain #NepalQuakeRelief
— Mistress of Vices (@cyclopsee) May 12, 2015
Schools which were to open this week have been further shut down for two weeks more. They will now open beginning May 30, as per the directive issued by the Ministry of Education.
Nepalis had started getting back to their normal lives, recovering and rebuilding, but are again living in fear after the second quake.
Kashish Das Shrestha tweeted:
Any sense of calm that may have been restored amongst Nepalis has perhaps just collapsed with today's terrifying and long earthquake.
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) May 12, 2015