My thoughts and prayers are first of all for the Nepalese and all those who suffering from today's disaster.

The entire Kathmandu valley and beyond is devastated and a quick google search images "durbar square kathmandu damage" offers just a glimpse of what the Durbar Squares look like now. Many multi-tiered wooden buildings have collapsed, statues destroyed, and what is still standing is currently being bulldozed to make way for emergency and rescue teams to be able to reach the people in need. Hopefully the death toll will come to a halt soon and slowly but surely Nepal will strive to recover from this terrible tragedy and try to reconstruct what has been damaged :(

Incredibly sad, more than 1500 people lost.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/04/25/nepal-earthquake-reduces -world-heritage-sites-to-rubble/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32465345

Swayumbhanath's damaged too but still standing ...

Boudhanath stupa seems to have more damage - major cracks developed as can be seen on this link

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3283000/posts

Both Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar Squares also severely damaged

http://focusnews.com/photos/the-earthquake-effect-before-and-after/23476/

As Clyde says, thoughts are with those caught up in the destruction. I just received some good news from a colleague with a family member in Kathmandu who is safe and well.

The effect on the historic fabric seems to be pretty dramatic, it is going to take a while for the full effect to become clear but I guess the focus at the moment will rightly be on the people caught up in the whole mess.

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/04/27/nepal-curnow-drone-video.cnn

This drone video of what is left of Swayumbhanath and Kathmandu Square made me cry! Hopefully there won't be any more aftershocks and slowly but surely Nepal will be able to get back on its feet.

More pics from BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32472307

And UNESCO statement

According to UNESCO’s preliminary assessment on the ground, the monuments and sites within the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property, as well as several other cultural and natural heritage sites located in the area, have been heavily affected. In particular, Durbar Squares of Patan, Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu) and Bhaktapur are almost fully destroyed.

Nepal’s natural heritage, in particular the World Heritage site of Sagarmatha National Park, including Mount Everest, has also been severely affected by the earthquake. Minimal impact has been found to the World heritage site of Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha (1997), and Chitwan National Park (1984).

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/unesco_to_assess_the_imp act_on_nepals_cultural_heritage_of_the_devastating_earthquake/#.VT7al8uKC4Q

Pashupatinath Temple remains unharmed

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/neighbours/nepal-earthquake-pashupatinath-temp le-remains-unharmed/

News video show damage in Pashupatinath Temple complex but not the main temple

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/542295/pashupatinath-temple-in-nepal-suffers-damages-but -survives-the-earthquake.html

Some claimed miracle and some believe it is just smart engineering.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kedarnath-miracle-again-nepal-s-pashupatinat h-temple-survives-quake/article1-1341664.aspx

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/04/the-temple-that-survived-nepals-earthquake-off ers-lessons-in-resilience/391562/

This video show that the complex of Changu Narayan Temple is severely damaged, many buildings collapsed, but the main building is still standing intact.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qavoow5qxEU