At least 69 people have been killed and dozens injured after a strong earthquake struck western Nepal on Friday. Witnesses said houses in the area had collapsed and buildings were shaking hundreds of miles away.
Nepal’s National Seismological Centre said the quake was of magnitude 6.4, but the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) later downgraded the magnitude to 5.7 and the US Geological Survey pegged it as 5.6.
Local officials said it had not been possible to establish contact in the area near the epicentre in Jajarkot, a hilly district with a population of 190,000 and villages scattered in remote hills.
Jajarkot local official Harish Chandra Sharma said at least 34 people had been killed in his district, while in neighbouring Rukum West district police official Namaraj Bhattarai said at least 35 deaths had been reported.
“Rescue and search teams have to clear roads blocked by dry landslides due to the earthquake to reach the affected areas,” Bhattarai said.
Ramidanda, where the epicentre lies, has not been reached by authorities yet.
At least 20 people were taken to hospital with injuries, Suresh Sunar, a district official from Jajarkot, told Reuters by phone. “I am out in the open myself. We are collecting details, but due to cold and night, it is difficult to get information from remote areas,” he said.
Nepal’s National Seismological Centre said the quake occurred at 11.47pm (18.02 GMT) in Jajarkot, a district of Karnali province. Jajarkot is about 500km (310 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.
Local media footage showed crumbled facades of multistorey brick houses. Tremors were felt in neighbouring districts and as far away as Kathmandu, residents said.
“Houses have collapsed. People rushed out of their homes. I am out in the crowd of terrified residents. We are trying to find details of damage,” police official Santosh Rokka told Reuters by phone.
Buildings shook as far as away New Delhi, about 600km (375 miles) away, according to witnesses who spoke to Reuters. Videos on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, showed people running into the street as some buildings were evacuated.
2023-11-03 18:39:34
Post from www.theguardian.com
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