5.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Nepal
Oct 19, 2022
Kathmandu [Nepal], October 19 : An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 shook Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon, National Centre for Seismology (NCS) informed.
As per NCS, the earthquake occurred 53 kilometres east of Kathmandu at around 2:52 pm. The depth of the earthquake was 10 km below the ground.
"An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 occurred 53 kilometres east of Kathmandu today at around 2:52 pm. The depth of the earthquake was 10 km below the ground," NCS said.
Earlier on July 31, another earthquake of magnitude 6.0 took place 147 km ESE of Kathmandu, Nepal at 8.13 am IST around Martim Birta of Khotang district, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre (NEMRC).
The depth of the epicentre was monitored at 10 km in eastern Nepal, determined to be at 27.14 degrees North latitude and 86.67 degrees east longitude.
Earlier on April 25, a high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale struck central Nepal between its capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara. It is estimated to have killed 8,964 people and injured close to 22,000 people.
The earthquake, known as the Gorkha earthquake, also shook several cities across north India; tremors were also felt in Lahore, Pakistan, Lhasa in Tibet, and Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The recent earthquakes in Nepal have caused unprecedented damage to lives and property has necessitated the demand for well-framed policy measures to manage such disasters.
Nepal suffered its worst recorded earthquake in 1934. It was measured at 8.0 and destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
It has been established that the Indian plate is getting subducted under the Eurasian plate at 5 cm a year. This is responsible for the formation and increasing height of young fold mountains of the Himalayas and also makes the region prone to earthquakes. Disasters like quakes can wreak havoc if preparedness is not ample.
