Scores reported dead as 6.4M earthquake jolts Jajarkot

Almost 50 people have been reported dead after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake jolted Jajarkot late on Friday.

According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, the earthquake with an epicentre in Jajarkot district was recorded at 11:47pm.

As per the data collected at 3am on Saturday, Jajarkot and West Rukum have dealt the most damage, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Santosh Roka.

Twenty people have been reported dead in Jajarkot alone while the death toll in Rukum has reached 28, preliminary shows, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Namaraj Bhattarai

Previously on October 22, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake had rattled Kathmandu Valley and adjoining districts at 7:39am. There are 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.