At least 140 dead and more than 200 injured after 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Jajarkot district of Karnali province, a hilly region in western Nepal.
The quake struck just before midnight at 11:47 p.m. (1802 GMT) when many people were already asleep in their homes. Local media footage showed crumbled facades of multi-storied brick houses.
The actual number of casualties is likely to rise. Confirmed numbers of deaths and injuries from the isolated areas have not yet been available.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 17.9 kilometers (11.1 miles).
The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) pegged the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.2 and a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal expressed “his deep sorrow over the human and physical damage caused by the earthquake.”
The tremors were felt as far as New Delhi, the capital of India. Videos on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed people running into the streets as some buildings were evacuated.
Mountainous Nepal is prone to earthquakes. The Himalayan region, where Nepal is located, is extremely active geologically. The Indian continental plate is shifting beneath the Eurasian plate at a rate of about two centimeters per year, resulting in frequent earthquakes.
