An earthquake has struck Nepal, which suffered massive devastation in a 7.8 magnitude tremor in April last year.
The latest earthquake, which is measured preliminary magnitude 5.4, struck northwest of Namche Bazar in Nepal. The United States Geological Survey said the quake was at a depth of 10 km on Monday, 19 km northwest of Namche Bazar.
The National Centre for Seismology said the earthquake hit the region at 5:05 in the morning in the area bordering Ramechhap and Solukhumbu districts. The epicentre was on latitude 27.79° N and longitude 86.5 ° E, about 120 kilometres east of the capital, Kathmandu, NSC added.
There have been no reports of any damage yet, and more details are awaited. However, local media reported that details of the impact would come in only later as the quake struck remote mountainous villages.
Tremors were felt in the capital Kathmandu, where resident fled their houses after they were jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn earthquake, the Himalayan Times reported.
Nearly 9,000 people were killed and more than 20,000 injured in the Nepal earthquake 2015. The April 25 temblor had also caused the deadliest shock in the Himalayan mountain range, triggering an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed 21 people.
