![Kathmandu Durbar Square- before and after the earthquake [Source: National Geographic]](http://www.gounesco.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/02buildingnepal.adapt_.1900.2.jpg)
It is an irony�to see�the fury of nature wiping out buildings that have stood for centuries in a matter of seconds. The recent earthquake in Nepal proved that nature just debunks�the futile attempts of man to overpower things that�don’t�belong to him!! The destruction and damage�of buildings within the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property��is not just�cultural loss for the nation, but a loss to�mankind. Nepal- �a�small picturesque country that is 0.04 times the size of India [1/5 the size of Texas], has four inscribed UNESCO World heritage Sites that include three royal cities and several Hindu and Buddhist sites within the Kathmandu Valley-�most of which have been severely damaged in the quake.
As an immediate response measure, a crowd mapping website- Kathmandu Cultural Emergencies– �has been developed by Aparna Tandon[ICCROM] and Rohit Jigyasu[ICOMOS-ICORP] to �collect information on the the damage caused to cultural heritage sites and institutions in Nepal. Photographs of damage to traditional houses, buildings, museums, temples , any rubble that may contain fragments of a historic site, sculptures, sacred objects etc. can be uploaded to the webpage or sent to the mail id [email protected] if possible with their location . Photos can also be taken via mobile. Tweeps and Instagrammers can use�? #?heritagedamagenepal?� and? #?culturedamagenepal?�to tweet pictures of earthquake affected cultural heritage .
While �the priority at this hour is to rescue those whose lives have been devastated in this horrific manner, there is also a sincere appeal�to capture as much of the destruction as possible so that atleast some of the remains can be salvage�after the human search and rescue operation is completed.
Nepal is still suffering significant aftershocks, and lack of basic facilities�- food, water, electricity, communications�particularly in mountainous and remote areas. But this is what we know so far about the fate of Nepal�s World Heritage sites:�Together we will work to restore the cultural heritage of a beautiful land and its beautiful�people.