Heavy Losses Feared in India Quake

Damage reports are still coming in from the huge earthquake, estimated to have measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, which struck near the town of Bhuj in the Indian State of Gujarat at 8:50 a.m. local time this morning.

At least 500 people were reported dead, and many more are trapped in collapsed buildings. The tremor was felt as far away as Nepal, and caused buildings to sway and cracked walls in Bombay. It also hit across the border in Pakistan, where two people were reported killed by a falling building in the city of Hyderbad.

Ahmebad, the largest city near the quake’s epicenter has sustained major damages. Gujarat, on the Northeast corner of the Indian subcontinent, is particularly prone to strong earthquakes. The last one in 1999 killed over 100 people.