Topline
More than 150 people were killed in a devastating earthquake that struck rural western Nepal late Friday night, according to local officials, marking the country’s deadliest earthquake since 2015 and the latest deadly earthquake in recent months — and officials expect the death toll to keep rising.
Homes turned to rubble in Nepal’s Jajarkot district following an overnight earthquake.
Key Facts
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake came just before midnight local time, devastating western Nepal’s Jajarkot district, with the quake’s epicenter roughly 300 miles west of the country’s capital of Kathmandu.
A magnitude 4 aftershock followed the initial earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, though Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center reported the initial quake had a magnitude of 6.4, with four aftershocks.
Kuber Kadayat, a spokesperson for Nepal’s police, told CNN this morning the death toll had climbed to 129, though subsequent estimates have put the death toll above 150, and officials expect it to keep climbing as recovery efforts continue.
The earthquake also left more than 100 people injured, according to an army spokesperson, the BBC reported.
Tremors from the earthquake could be felt for hundreds of miles, including as far away as New Delhi, India, roughly 450 miles west, the New York Times reported.
Tangent
The earthquake in Nepal follows another deadly quake in western Afghanistan last month, which left more than 2,000 people dead and nearly 10,000 injured, Taliban officials confirmed. That 6.3 magnitude earthquake also triggered a series of aftershocks, including three with a 5.5-plus magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Another earthquake in September left nearly 2,500 people dead in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains, also leaving behind widespread devastation in the mountainous area experts said is not built to withstand a powerful shake.
What To Watch For
Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Saturday morning in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he is traveling to the affected area “to understand the damage” and “rescue the injured and to relieve the victims,” while pleading for “all political parties and civil society for cooperation.”
Further Reading
Nepal earthquake: More than 150 killed in remote western Nepal (BBC)
Earthquake in Western Nepal Kills More Than 130 (New York Times)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/11/04/nepal-earthquake-heres-what-to-know-about-the-deadly-shock-as-death-toll-climbs-to-150/