At least 6 killed after 6.3 magnitude earthquake hits west Nepal; tremors felt across north India

At least six people were killed and five others injured when a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck west Nepal early on November 9, authorities said.

According to the National Seismological Centre, the earthquake occurred at 2.12 a.m. with its epicentre at Khaptad National Park in Doti district.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Bhatta, the acting chief at the District Police Office in Doti, said that all the victims were killed by the debris of the houses damaged during the earthquake.

The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said the epicentre of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake, which struck at 1.57 a.m., was in Nepal, about 90 km east-southeast of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. The region has been experiencing lower-magnitude quakes for the last few days.

The epicenter was in Nepal, according to the National Center for Seismology.” Earthquake of Magnitude:6.3, Occurred on 09-11-2022, 01:57:24 IST, Lat: 29.24 & Long: 81.06, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Nepal,” the NCS tweeted.

In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8-magnitude rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and wounding nearly 22,000 others. It also damaged over 800,000 houses and school buildings.

Narayan Silwal, spokesman for the Nepali army, said a ground rescue team has been rushed to the site and two helicopters were on stand-by in nearby Surkhet and Nepalgunj towns.

Second earthquake in 24 hours

Two moderate earthquakes preceded the stronger tremor that jolted western Nepal, a 5.7 magnitude tremor at 9.07 p.m. on November 8 and a 4.1 magnitude one shortly after at 9.56 p.m. The epicentre was the same, it said.

The tremors were felt across north India, including in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh as well as in Delhi and its suburbs of Gurugram and Ghaziabad.

Many people shared their experiences on Twitter, posting videos of people rushing out of their homes and neighbours gathering in groups, huddled over their phones as they tried to find out what had happened and where the epicentre was. One video showed a chandelier shaking.

“I’m just 80 km away from the centre of this earthquake… I tell you guys ... I was in deep sleep. My table started hitting the wall...Almirah made sound…and my bed shook… It was for at least 50 to 70 seconds,” posted one user Dinesh Sharma, who said he is based in Pilibhit near the border.
Neha Yadav, another Twitter user said, she had been in Delhi for four years and had never felt such tremors.

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake had struck Uttarakhand on November 6 with the epicenter 17 km east-southeast of Uttarkashi.

--With agencies’ inputs