As many as 128 people have been reported dead, and 141 injured, after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake jolted west Nepal late on Friday.
According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, the earthquake with an epicentre in Jajarkot district was recorded at 11:47 pm.
As per reports as of 3am on Saturday, Jajarkot and West Rukum have dealt the most damage, with 92 deaths in Jajarkot alone, said Deputy Superintendent of Police of Jajarkot district Santosh Roka. Among the dead also includes Deputy Mayor of Nalgad Municipality Sarita Singh, Roka added.
According to the Karnali Province Police, 114 casualties—44 dead, 70 injured—have been recorded in the district’s Ramidanda of the Barekot Rural Municipality.
More than 55 people have sustained injuries in Jajarkot. Of them, five have been taken to the Karnali Province Hospital in Surkhet while the others are receiving treatment at various medical institutes in the district.
Similarly, the death toll in West Rukum has reached 36, preliminary data shows, said Deputy Superintendent of Police of West Rukum district Namaraj Bhattarai. Thirty-six people were reported dead in Aathbiskot Municipality, and eight more in Sanibheri Rural Municipality.
The number of those injured in West Rukum has reached 85. Preparations are underway to medivac one individual, who has sustained serious injuries, while the others are receiving treatment at the district hospital, Chaurjahari Hospital, and other health clinics.
The earthquake has severely hit Bheri, Nalgad, Kushe, Barekot and Chedagad in Jajarkot district. All the security forces in the district have been mobilised in the search and rescue work, said Chief District Officer Suresh Sunar.
Previously on October 22, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake had rattled Kathmandu Valley and adjoining districts at 7:39am. There were no reports of damage or casualty.
Earthquakes are common in Nepal which is situated on the ridge where the Tibetan and Indian tectonic plates meet and advance two meters closer to one another every century which results in pressure which is released in the form of earthquakes. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks killed around 9,000 people in 2015.
As the government’s post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) report noted, Nepal is the 11th most earthquake-prone country in the world. (The Kathmandu Post)