On Friday night, November 3, northwestern Nepal was struck with a magnitude 5.6 earthquake, causing the death of over 150 with hundreds more injured. Local officials are now fearful that the death toll may continue to rise as first responders have reached the hilly area near the epicenter of the quake.
The epicenter of the quake was located in Jajarkot district, with aftershocks felt as far away as New Delhi in India.
#BREAKING At least 143 dead in Nepal earthquake pic.twitter.com/3F8f2C6k63
— Fast News Network (@fastnewsnet) November 4, 2023
Nepal is located between two tectonic plates—the Eurasian plate and Indian plate—and is home to some of world’s tallest mountains, such as Mount Everest. This collision of tectonic plates has been occurring over tens of millions of years however, this seismic activity has made the region vulnerable to earthquakes, floods, and landslides.
As a result, it appears that this tectonic activity could be responsible for this devastating event in northwestern Nepal on Friday night.
In addition to its location along these two tectonic plates, reports suggest that many buildings had poor construction quality which likely contributed to the high number of casualties from this earthquake.
Because this quake took place while most were sleeping at night time, victims were unable to take refuge or get into safer areas before being affected by the tremors resulting from this 5.6 magnitude quake followed by an aftershock registering 4 on the Richter scale later Saturday morning.
The death toll was climbing after an earthquake struck Nepal's western region of Jajarkot as houses collapsed and buildings as far away as New Delhi shook https://t.co/aGSXISBVRj pic.twitter.com/Gx6aJJPcv9
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 4, 2023
Nepal’s prime minister reacted quickly following news of the disaster by mobilizing security agencies in order to respond accordingly and provide aid where needed most, such actions including sending medicine and medical personnel via helicopter for those injured during this tragedy.
Additionally, he informed citizens via X (formerly Twitter) about plans moving forward regarding relief efforts being conducted throughout northwestern Nepal in response to this catastrophic event that took place just last week.
