Strong tremors were felt in several districts of Bihar, Jharkhand as well as the National Capital Region (NCR), as an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck neighbouring Nepal.
At least 128 people died and over 140 people were injured due to the earthquake that jolted Nepal in the late hours of Friday, The Kathmandu Post reported.
In Bihar, the tremors were felt in Patna, Katihar, Motihari and few other districts along the India-Nepal border. However, no loss of life or damage to property was reported, reported PTI, citing officials.
People were seen rushing out of their homes in various localities of Patna and Katihar as a precautionary measure.
The National Centre for Seismology said the epicentre of the earthquake, which struck around 11.30 PM, was in Nepal, about 227 km north of Ayodhya and 331 km west northwest of Kathmandu. This is the third time in a month that strong quakes have struck Nepal.
In Jharkhand, several districts felt mild tremors. There have been no report of loss of life or property in any part of the state. Ranchi, Hazaribag, Garhwa, Koderma, Ramgarh and some other parts of the state experienced mild tremors on Friday night.
Residents of Ranchi claimed they experienced jolts two times for around four to five seconds.
“Jharkhand experienced mild tremors, caused by the earthquake in Nepal,” Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand told PTI. Earlier on October 31, a mild tremor of 3.7 magnitude had hit Jharkhand.
In the high-rise societies of Noida, residents were seen rushing out of their homes after strong tremors were felt in NCR.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed anguish over the loss of lives and damage due to the earthquake, and asserted that India stands in solidarity with its neighbouring country and is ready to extend all possible assistance.
“Deeply saddened by loss of lives and damage due to the earthquake in Nepal. India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and we wish the injured a quick recovery,” he said on X.