Nepal: Earthquake of 4.3 magnitude hits west of Kathmandu; tremors felt across 6 districts

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 on the Richter scale shook parts of Nepal's capital Kathmandu in the early hours of Thursday, the National Center for Seismology reported. The quake struck about 161 km West-Northwest of Kathmandu at a depth of 66 km. There were no immediate reports of damage or death.

Shortly after, two mild earthquakes measuring below 5.0 magnitude hit Central Nepal early on Thursday morning, the national seismological center announced.

As per the readings from the center, an earthquake measuring 4.9 magnitudes struck the Kaski District of Nepal and surrounding areas at around 3:56 AM (NST). The epicenter of that quake lay at Dhampus of Machhapurchhare Rural Municipality-7 in the Kaski district. Shockwaves from the quake were felt in Baglung, Parbat, Myagdi and Tanahun districts.

Hours later, another mild tremor measuring 4.1 was also recorded by the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center which had the epicenter at Thumi of Gorkha District at 7:22 AM (NST).

No reports of damages or casualties have been reported so far.

This comes after a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan nation in 2015, killing nearly 9,000 people and injuring more than 22,000. It was the deadliest in a seismically active region in nearly 90 years. The quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks and Nepal was hit by another 7.3 magnitude tremor about 17 days later. Hundreds and thousands of people were plunged into poverty in over 14 worst-hit districts.

Massive earthquake in Afghanistan kills nearly 1,000

On Wednesday, a massive tremor of 6.1 magnitude rocked parts of densely populated Afghanistan and Pakistan. At least 1,000 people have been killed, and 1,500 others are injured after a major 6.1-magnitude earthquake rocked Afghanistan overnight at around 1.30 a.m. local time, the country’s state-run media reported. As the rescue teams searched through the rubble of the levelled homes to find the survivors, the death toll is expected to rise.

The death toll is significantly higher in Paktika province where homes collapsed on the sleeping families and roofs tattered on unsuspecting residents who barely had time to run for cover in the middle of the night.

Other parts majorly impacted were Giyan, Nika, Barmal, and Zirok, according to Afghanistan’s State Ministry for Disaster Management. "The timing of the earthquake (in the) dark of night ... and the shallow depth of 10 kilometers of its epicenter led to higher casualties," disaster management authority reportedly said.

UNICEF expressed condolence and said thousand of children are now at grave risk in Afghanistan. In a statement, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said though the exact number of deaths and injuries is yet to be confirmed by the Talibani regime, it was expected that thousands of children have become homeless and are at greater risk.

(Image: AP (representative)