A powerful earthquake of 6.1 magnitude rocked Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and damaged 20 houses on Sunday, spreading panic among people and bringing back the painful memories of 2015 when a devastating quake killed about 9,000 people.
According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, the earthquake with its epicentre in Dhading district was recorded at 7:39 a.m. The tremor was also felt in other districts of Bagmati and Gandaki provinces. Although no causality was reported, there were landslides in various parts of the district, according to media reports. Twenty houses were damaged and 75 more have developed cracks at Kumaltari, Jwalamukhi Rural Municipality of Dhading due to the earthquake, the reports said. Dhading was hit by another three tremors of over 4 in magnitude on Sunday afternoon. According to the National Earthquake Monitoring Centre, earthquakes measuring 5.1, 5 and 4.1 magnitudes were recorded with their epicentre in Dhading district. Former ward president Krishna Prasad Kapri said that the details of the damage caused by the earthquake are continuing.
Rajesh Adhikari, a local resident, said that due to the frequent aftershocks of above 4 in magnitude, people stayed outside their houses. Information Officer of the District Police Office and Deputy Superintendent of Police Santulal Prasad Jaiswar said detailed information on the damaged houses is being collected.
Earlier, an aftershock measuring 4.3 occurred at 8.08 am followed by another of 4.3 in magnitude at 8.28 am and 4.1 at 8.59 am, according to Earthquake Measurement Centre. The quake and continuous tremors triggered panic among people.
Earthquakes are common in Nepal which is situated on the ridge where the Tibetan and Indian tectonic plates meet and advance two metres closer to one another every century which results in earthquakes. On October 16, Nepal’s Sudurpaschim province was hit by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks killed around 9,000 and injured nearly 22,000 people in Nepal in 2015. A total of 3.5 million people were rendered homeless. As the government’s post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) report noted, Nepal is the 11th most earthquake-prone country in the world.
