Kathmandu (Nepal) | Portal
At least 128 people died and dozens were injured when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck western Nepal this Friday (3).
Witnesses reported that houses collapsed in the area and buildings in New Delhi, India, were also shaken. Local media images showed that multistory brick houses had collapsed. Tremors were felt in neighboring districts and even in the capital Kathmandu, residents said.
“We have not been able to establish contact with the epicenter in Jajarkot,” local official Harish Chandra Sharma said, adding that there were reports of 34 deaths in the district alone, which is home to 190,000 people and villages are spread across remote hills. Another 35 deaths were reported in the neighboring Rukum West district.
Nepal’s National Seismological Center originally reported the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.4, but the German Geosciences Research Center (GFZ) later downgraded the magnitude to 5.7 and the United States Geological Survey estimated it at magnitude 5.6.
“Rescue and search teams have to clear roads blocked by landslides due to the earthquake to reach affected areas,” said Namaraj Bhattarai, local police spokesman. Authorities said they still managed to reach the site of the epicenter.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and property due to the earthquake and directed security agencies to immediately begin rescue and relief operations.
At least 20 people were hospitalized with injuries, Suresh Sunar, a Jajarkot district official, told Portal. “We are gathering details, but due to the cold and night, it is difficult to get information from remote areas.”
Another police officer, Santosh Rokka, also gave his report to Portal. “Houses collapsed. People have fled their homes. I am in the crowd of frightened residents. We are trying to get details about the damage.”
According to witnesses, the earthquake shook buildings as far away as New Delhi, some 600 kilometers away.
In 2015, around 9,000 people died in two earthquakes in Nepal. Entire cities, centuriesold temples and other historic sites were reduced to rubble and more than a million homes were destroyed, costing the economy $6 billion.