The epicenter of the earthquake that struck northwestern Nepal early on November 4th. USGS
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake killed at least 119 people in two districts of western Nepal on Friday evening, local authorities said early Saturday. The earthquake, which injured more than 100 people, struck a remote area in the western part of the country in the Himalayas and was at a depth of just 18 kilometers, according to the United States Geology Service.
The shock was felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, which is almost 500 kilometers from the epicenter. “At least 30 people are dead and around 40 injured in Rukum West,” said district police chief Namraj Bhattarai. “We are working on rescue efforts,” he added.
The head of neighboring Jajarkot district, Suresh Sunar, said that “26 people died and many were injured” in the area. “It is still night and it is difficult to get all the information. The balance could increase,” he warned.
Nepal lies on a major geological fault line, where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas, and where earthquakes are common. The government deployed security forces to support rescue efforts.
“We have information that human and physical damage occurred in two districts due to the earthquake and security forces were mobilized for rescue work,” Home Ministry spokesman Nararyan Prasad Bhattarai said, noting that the figures had not yet been reached .
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Nearly 9,000 people died in Nepal in 2015 when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the country, destroying more than half a million homes. In November 2022, another earthquake of magnitude 5.6 killed six people in Doti district near Jajarkot.
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