Another Big Earthquake Has Hit Nepal
Second major quake hits as the country still struggles to recover from the last one.
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Today, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, a country still struggling to recover from the major quake that hit less than three weeks ago.
According to Gopal Sharma for Reuters, almost 100 people were injured, and at least 22 people have died in this new earthquake: 19 in Nepal, two in India and one in Tibet.
The earthquake hit at about 12:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, May 12 near the Nepalese-Chinese border, about 76 km northwest of the capital city of Kathmandu according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Tremors were also reported throughout northern and eastern India.
“With more than 8,000 dead and thousands more injured after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit on April 25, Nepal is already grappling with its worst natural disaster in decades,” writes Devjyot Ghoshal for Quartz India. Aftershocks of up to 6.3 magnitude continued to hit the country in the weeks after the first earthquake as the country still struggled to recover.
The damage done by the second quake has yet to be fully assessed, but several buildings have collapsed in Chautara, a city east of Kathmandu reports Douglas Busvine and Rupam Jain Nair for Reuters. Landslides have also been reported, including in the Sindhupalchok region where over 3000 people died during the last earthquake.
The latest earthquake was 0.5 magnitude smaller than the April 25 quake, making it 5.6 times less powerful than the one that struck central Nepal.