Write a report on a devastating earthquake that quivered your city
Devastating Earthquake Rocked Darjeeling, Death Toll Over 56
Darjeeling, West Bengal, 10th May 2021: The devastating earthquake that rocked the hill city of Darjeeling yesterday at around 9 a.m., snatched the lives of 56 residents and left many more missing. This natural disaster with an intensity of 7.2 as measured on the Richter Scale turned the entire affected part of Darjeeling into a crematorium ground. The tremor which lasted for only 6 minutes caused massive destruction of multi-storeyed buildings as well as landslides. The worst-hit areas of Darjeeling are Malani, Tiger Hill and Darjeeling Mall area. According to the survey report, the epicentre of this earthquake was the coastal region of South Bengal about 400 km away. All sorts of communications including water supply, power supply and networking systems were entirely disrupted as giant breaches were created on many roads. Due to the collapse of residential buildings, many people were suspected to be trapped under the debris. To rescue the affected people, Army helicopters and hand cranes were pressed into action. The injured persons were hospitalised at the central hospital of Darjeeling. Many people vacated their flats out of fear and anticipating further tremors. In a word, the situation is very tragic. Already great scarcity of drinking water, food, medicines and other needful things is soaring up. The CM of West Bengal surveyed the earthquake-hit areas and expressed her condolences to the victims’ families. Even she sanctioned a fund of Rs. – 1000 crores for the rehabilitation of Darjeeling. The rescue operation is still going on and normalcy is restoring gradually.