Nepal hit by new earthquakes just days after large temblor kills more than 150
New Delhi — Two significant earthquakes jolted Nepal on Monday, just three days after a powerful temblor killed more than 150 people in the Himalayan nation. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Nepal on Monday, centered in the Jajarkot district about 250 miles northeast of the capital, Kathmandu, which was hit hard by the magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Friday.
At least 153 people were killed by that first quake, according to the latest official figures from Nepalese authorities on Monday, which was a slightly lower toll than provided over the weekend. More than 339 people were also injured.
A 4.5-magnitude aftershock hit the western part of the country just nine minutes after the earthquake on Monday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. At least three people sustained minor injuries but there were no reports of any deaths from the Monday temblors, according to Jajarkot police official Satosh Rokka.
Jajarkot district official Ek Raj Upadhayay said buildings damaged by Friday's quake may have been further compromised, but no details were available. Nepal's Jajarkot and Rukum districts, both mountainous and home to many far-flung villages, were the worst hit by Friday's earthquake.
Most of the roughly 8,000 homes in the region were damaged, authorities said, and in some cases entire families were left buried under the rubble.
Survivors said they heard loud noises as buildings collapsed soon after the Friday quake. Many people were still sleeping outdoors in the cold after the earthquake flattened their homes and they remained in dire need of aid.
There were shortages of all necessities, including food and medicine, as relief materials and rescue teams were just starting to reach several locations in the earthquake zone Monday, according to local media.
Nepalese authorities have struggled to get aid into the remote areas as roads were also blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka said Sunday that the government was prioritizing medical aid, relief and rehabilitation for earthquake survivors, as thousands were left homeless overnight.
The earthquakes, which struck as many people were asleep in their homes, were felt in India's capital, New Delhi, more than 500 miles away.
Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal, but Friday's quake was the deadliest since a 7.8 magnitude temblor struck in 2015, killing about 9,000 people and damaging about a million buildings.