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Over 4,700 killed in Nepal earthquake, architectural treasures ruined

Relief personnel must weigh the value of saving Nepal's heritage against saving lives.

By Ed Adamczyk
A Nepalese woman stands in front of her damaged house, waiting to salvage household goods after an earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 26, 2015. New tremors sent shocked survivors scurrying outdoors just 24 hours after a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook the region Photo by Sanjog Manandhar/UPI
A Nepalese woman stands in front of her damaged house, waiting to salvage household goods after an earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 26, 2015. New tremors sent shocked survivors scurrying outdoors just 24 hours after a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook the region Photo by Sanjog Manandhar/UPI | License Photo

KATHMANDU, Nepal, April 28 (UPI) -- As the death toll in last weekend's Nepal earthquake passed 4,700 Tuesday, some of the country's foremost architectural treasures lie in rubble.

Nepal, an isolated, densely-packed and landlocked country of 26 million high in the Himalaya Mountains, relies heavily on tourism to support its economy. The 7.9-magnitude earthquake leveled many of Nepal's elaborate treasured temples, some dating to the 12th century. Early appraisals suggest nearly half the temples in the oldest neighborhoods of Kathmandu, the capital, have been destroyed. They have served as the cause of national pride, and a draw to tourists.

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Seven affected areas of the Kathmandu Valley have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and were "heavily affected" by the earthquake, a UNESCO statement said.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala declared a three-day mourning period, and in a televised address thanked international donors and suppliers of rescue material, noting the death count could reach 10,000.

Planes filled with humanitarian supplies and personnel have overloaded Kathmandu's airport, and the city is filled with Nepali expatriates, rolling suitcases down ruined streets in search of relatives. Neighboring China and India have donated supplies and helicopters, but the search for survivors, in remote villages clustered on mountain ridges, is slow.

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Residents of the destroyed village of Saurpani carried their dead to the nearby Daraudi River, where Shankar Thapa said none of the 1,300 houses in the village survived the earthquake, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

"In some villages, about 90 percent of the houses have collapsed. They're just flattened," said Dr. Rebecca McAteer, an American physician who left the Nepal hospital, where she works, to serve in the area of destruction.

At issue now is the balance between saving lives and saving Nepal's heritage. Major earthquakes strike Nepal about every 90 years, the most recent in 1934, but the ancient temples had survived until now. "The loss of inheritance has made the loss of human lives even more difficult," wrote Himalayan Times journalist Luxmee Maharjan.

Katmandu's Durbar Square, the subject of postcards and many tourist photos, is now demolished. Author and University of London professor Michael Hutt told the Wall Street Journal, "This was one of the most magnificent sites of South Asia and it has now been reduced to rubble. I don't know how they are going to start rebuilding it without massive international help."

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