Nepal: At least 132 dead after 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck western Nepal

Europe 1 with AFP 13:30 p.m., November 04, 2023

At least 132 people have died in an earthquake that shook a remote region of Nepal, where rescue efforts are being organized to search for survivors, according to a new toll from Nepalese authorities on Saturday. The magnitude 5.6 earthquake was measured at a depth of 18 km according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It hit the far west of the Himalayan country late Friday night. Its epicenter was located 42 km south of Jumla, not far from the border with Tibet.

"92 people died in Jajarkot and 40 in Rukum," Home Ministry spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told AFP, citing the two districts so far most affected by the quake, located south of the epicentre in the border province of Karnali.

"Transmission of information" made difficult

More than 100 people were injured in the two districts, Nepal police spokesman Kuber Kathayat said. Nepalese security forces have been deployed to the quake-affected areas to assist with relief operations, according to Karnali provincial police spokesman Gopal Chandra Bhattarai.

"The isolation of the districts makes it difficult to convey information," he added. "Some roads are blocked because of the damage, but we are trying to reach the area by other routes." In Jajarkot, the area hospital was stormed by residents carrying the wounded. Videos and photos posted on social media show residents digging through the rubble in the dark to extract survivors of collapsed buildings.

It shows destroyed or damaged mud houses and survivors outside to protect themselves from possible future collapses, while the sirens of emergency vehicles wail. Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal arrived in the affected area on Saturday after expressing "deep sadness for the human and physical damage caused by the earthquake". "The government is determined to help the victims and treat the injured," he said.

Tremors felt as far away as New Delhi

Moderate tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi, India's capital nearly 500 km from the epicenter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life in Nepal. "India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and stands ready to provide them with all possible assistance," he added. Earthquakes are common in Nepal, which sits on a major geological fault where the Indian tectonic plate sinks into the Eurasian plate, forming the Himalayan range.

The quake was followed several hours later by magnitude 4 aftershocks in the same area, according to the USGS. Nearly 9,000 people died in 2015 when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, destroying more than half a million homes and 8,000 schools. Hundreds of royal monuments and palaces – including sites in the UNESCO-listed Kathmandu Valley that attract tourists from all over the world – had suffered irreversible damage, affecting Nepalese tourism.

In November 2022, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake killed six people in the district of Doti, near Jajarkot, which was struck on Friday night.