Nepal Earthquake 2015

On April 25, 2015, at 11:56 am local time, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal so violently that Kathmandu shifted ten feet to the south in less than 50 seconds. Nearly 9,000 were killed and another 23,000 injured in the massive quake and subsequent aftershocks. Here we collect some of the stunning photographs of our Nepal team including Thomas Kelly, his son Liam, Priti Thapa and Sally Acharya.

The burning ghats at Pashupatinath temple were busy for weeks.

Carvings rescued from the rubble were set aside for protection.

All that was left of many towering templesl was the brick platform base.

Clearing rubble. Somehow they manage to make even the floors out of bricks.

This temple was already scheduled for reconstruction, so had a head start when it was destroyed in the quake as funds had been raised and plans made.

Only the two Nandi statues remained.

The new temple design.

Many temples that did not fall down needed shoring, and may yet have to be demolished and rebuilt.

The fact the temple housing this Siva Lingam had been destroyed did not stop this youngster from worshipping.

An artist sketches the devastation.

Teams of veternarians from overseas helped tend to wounded animals.

The LA County Fire Department was on hand almost immediately.

Old and new, both fell down.

In an oft repeated scene, a Garuda worships outside a temple that is no longer there.

And likewise this Nandi.

In the immediate aftermath, many Kathmandu residents fled to the open spaces. At this point, aftershocks were just 15 to 20 minutes apart.

Mushika outside a Ganesha temple.

Giant excavators clear a temple\

s rubble.'

Those injured in Kathmandu were luck to have hospitals available; those in the villages, not so much.

Woman and her dog camp on the street

The two great temples of Kathmandu Durbar Square, Maju Deval and Trailokya Mohan Narayan were completely destroyed, while the Gaddi BAithak, a European styel buidling added in 1908 by the Rana rulers was standing, but damaged.

Carvings set aside.

Kathmandu residents living in the streets.

Damage at one of the famed Buddhist stupas.

Also near a Buddhist stupa.

Swayambhus stupa survived, but with much damage to surrounding structures.

This monk lost his monastery, one of thousands of Buddhist monasteries destroyed in the quake.

Pashupatinath\

s burning ghats overwhelmed, bodies were creamated on the opposite bank.'

Vet checks to see if this calf is injured.

Waiting with a hurt goat with vets ready for their next patient.

Villages near the epicenter were leveled.

Villagers quickly salvaged what they could from damaged buildings and proceeded to rebuild.

In a sign of returning routine, this lady is selling pigeon food outside one of the temples.

These braced temples may or may not need complete reconstruction.

More sculptures set aside from a damaged temple. Locals formed teams to guard the temples and prevent theft of these ancient carvings.

Residents camped out.

The seismograph station in Gorkha, near the epicenter, fared only slightly better than the temple in the foreground.

Shot from a hill overlooking Kathmandu shows both the tent city and the remarkable lack of widespread damage to the buildings--predictions were that many of the city\

s buildings would fall in such a quake and tens of thousands would be killed.'

Another sign of life returned to normalcy--a team of women preps a field for planting.

The is Kathmandu Durba Square (also called Hanuman Dhoka Durbar) before the quake. The temple at center back and at the right were completely destroyed.

Before shot of the square.

Scene inside one of Kathmandu\

s overwhelmed hospitals.'

Volunteers clearing rubble.

All that\

s left of Kalamochan temple is Garuda.'

Kalamochan Temple

Another shot of Kathmandu Durbar Square before the quake.

A craftsman at work repairing a temple.

Damage in the village of Nuwakottown

The Indian army arrives to help.

The Japanese are experts at earthquake rescue. But such teams only come a a few days, a week at most, to find and rescue people trapped in collapased buildings.

The Indian Air Force unloads supplies.

The village of Sidhupalchok

Supplies being delivered to Sindhupalchok.

One of the temples unharmed by the quake, while others nearby were destroyed.

What was left of Trailokya Mohan Natrayana Temple

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