At least 132 people have been killed and more than a hundred injured in an earthquake that struck western Nepal on Saturday, November 4, according to a new report from Nepalese authorities. Earlier reports put the death toll at 119. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the magnitude 5.6 earthquake was recorded at a depth of 18 kilometers. It hit the western Himalayan country on Friday evening. Its center is located 42 kilometers south of Jumla district, not far from the Tibetan border.
“Ninety-two died in Jajarkot and forty in Rukum.”, Interior Ministry spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told Agence France-Presse (AFP), citing two of the worst-hit districts, bordering Karnali province, south of the epicenter. More than a hundred people have been injured in the two districts, Nepal Police spokesman Kuber Kathayat said.
Karnali Provincial Police Spokesperson Gopal Chandra Bhattarai said Nepalese security forces have been widely deployed to help with relief efforts in the earthquake-hit areas. “Isolation of districts makes it difficult to exchange informationHe explained. Some roads are closed due to damage, but we are trying to reach the area through other routes. »
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal arrived in the affected area on Saturday “His deep regret for the human and physical damage caused by the earthquake”.
Videos and photos posted on social media show residents digging through the rubble in the dark to pull out survivors. It shows destroyed or damaged mud houses and survivors standing outside to protect themselves from further collapse, while emergency vehicle sirens blare.
9,000 people died in the 2015 earthquake
Moderate tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi, 500 kilometers from the epicenter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “deep regret” Due to human losses in Nepal. “India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all assistance to them”he added.
According to the USGS, aftershocks measuring 4 on the Richter scale struck the same area several hours later. Earthquakes are common in Nepal, which lies on a major geological fault where the Indian tectonic plate pushes into the Eurasian plate, forming the Himalayan range.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, killing about 9,000 people, destroying more than half a million homes and 8,000 schools. Hundreds of monuments and royal palaces, including sites in the Kathmandu Valley, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracting tourists from all over the planet, suffered irreversible damage.