This is the deadliest earthquake in Nepal in almost ten years. At 11:47 p.m. local time, Friday, November 3, an earthquake measuring 5.6, according to the American Geological Survey, struck the far west of the country, a particularly remote region.
This earthquake, whose epicenter was located not far from the border with Tibet, left at least 157 dead, including 105 in the district of Jajarkot and 52 in that of Rukum West, according to the latest assessment from the Nepalese authorities, communicated on Saturday. Nearly 200 people were also injured.
The violence of the tremors was such that they were felt even in the Indian capital, New Delhi, located more than 500 kilometers from the epicenter. The National Seismic Monitoring and Research Center of Nepal, which for its part assessed the magnitude at 6.4, estimates that more than 150 aftershocks then struck the affected regions during the day on Saturday.
When the earth began to shake shortly before midnight, most residents were sleeping in their houses, many of which are of poor quality, made of stones and logs of wood or even earth. Images of the disaster show buildings collapsed like houses of cards, under which entire families were buried. Thousands of buildings were destroyed and most of the victims probably died under the rubble. In the two worst-affected districts, most of the damage occurred in areas where homes were built on sloping land.
Difficult access to disaster areas
“Most of the destroyed houses are in Jajarkot and Rukum, the geographical remoteness of the two districts and the lack of communication make relief efforts difficult”, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Saturday, November 4. In this mountainous region, many villages can only be reached on foot and access to some disaster areas, such as Jajarkot, would have been “Hindered by landslides triggered by the earthquake”added the United Nations.
Nepalese authorities ended search operations for survivors on Sunday and continue to help those who have already been extracted from the rubble. Many of them spent the night from Saturday to Sunday in the cold.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal arrived in the affected area on Saturday. “The government is determined to help the victims and treat the injured”, he said. His Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, said “deeply saddened” and assured that his country was ready “to provide all possible assistance”.
You have 45% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.