Extent of the disaster unclear
Dozens dead in earthquake in Nepal
November 4, 2023, 2:42 a.m
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The earth is shaking in western Nepal. It is not yet possible to predict how bad the destruction will be. So far, only a few local authorities have reported the number of victims: at least 56 people lost their lives and numerous others were injured.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck western Nepal, killing at least 56 people. “In our district, 26 people have died and numerous people are injured,” the mayor of Jajarkot in the western Himalayan country told the AFP news agency after the quake on Friday evening. Shortly afterwards, police in the Rukum region reported at least 30 dead and 40 injured. The exact extent of the destruction is still unclear.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal expressed his “deep sadness” at the “human and material damage” caused by the earthquake on the online service X, formerly Twitter. He said the quake occurred at 11:47 p.m. local time (6:47 p.m. CET) in the town of Ramidanda in the Jajarkot region in the west of the country. The place is located about 400 kilometers northeast of the capital Kathmandu. Three security services were mobilized to “immediately rescue and care for the injured.”
According to the US Earthquake Observatory USGS, the quake occurred at a depth of 18 kilometers below the earth’s surface. According to a report in the Times of India newspaper, tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi, which is almost 500 kilometers from the epicenter of the quake.
The Himalayan region, in which Nepal is located, is geologically extremely active. There the Indian continental plate is pushing under the Eurasian plate at a rate of around two centimeters per year – which repeatedly leads to strong earthquakes. Around eight years ago – in spring 2015 – a severe earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 (according to Nepalese information: 7.6) shook the area around the capital Kathmandu. The number of deaths rose to around 9,000 at the time. Entire cities, centuries-old temples and other historical sites were reduced to rubble and millions of people were left homeless.