Another Powerful 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strucks Nepal Again

A deadly magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Nepal, two weeks after a devastating quake killed more than 8,000 people in the Himalayan nation, the USGS has reported.



Officials said at least 36 people had been killed and more than 1,100 injured in the new quake in Nepal, which the USGS initially reported as magnitude 7.1, before later upgrading it to magnitude 7.3.

In addition, the national disaster
management authority in India said 17 died
there.

The quake, which struck 18km southeast of
Kodari, near the base camp for Mt Everest, was measured at a shallow depth of about 18km. A series of aftershocks - including one 6.3 magnitude tremor - later hit in the same area, the USGS reported.

The Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs reported that at least 36 people were killed in the quake and at least 1,117 were injured.

At least 19 buildings have collapsed, officials said, including 10 in Kathmandu.
Police issued a public warning, calling for
people to stay in open areas and to send text messages instead of making calls, to prevent the network from becoming jammed.

'Utter panic'
Al Jazeera's Annette Ekin, reporting from
Kathmandu, said that there was "utter panic" in the capital following the quake.

"The earth just started rolling. Everyone ran out onto the streets and all of the shops are now shuttered," she said, adding that the quake seemed to last about 30 seconds.
A woman who works for a finance company in Thamel, in Kathmandu, told Al Jazeera that she had clung on to a pillar inside her building when the quake struck.
"I was screaming.

It felt like the house was falling," she said.
Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, also reporting from Kathmandu, said the quake was so powerful that it made the building he was in "feel like jelly".

Tremors were felt in northern parts of
neighbouring India, Afghanistan and Indonesia.

Two hours after the quake struck, our
correspondent Ekin said that no one in
Kathmandu appeared willing to go back
indoors.

"Everyone is outside in the streets. At my hotel, all of the staff and guests are sitting around outside, waiting for more information," she said.

Kathmandu's airport has been closed, following the quake. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on April 25,
killing at least 8,046 people and injuring more than 17,800.

Source: Al - Jazeera