By ME Bureau
An earthquake measuring 7.9-magnitude on the Richter scale hit Nepal on Saturday morning, causing strong tremors that were felt across north and east India.
The epicentre of the massive quake was 80km (50 miles) east of Pokhara in Nepal, about half way between the town and the capital Kathmandu, the US Geological Survey said. The quake was 15km deep.People from Delhi-NCR, Ranchi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Patna, Jaipur and Bhopal, among other places, reported on Twitter they felt the tremor, as a panic wave swept across the country.
In Delhi, people came running out of their houses as the jolts were felt around 11:40am. The tremor reportedly lasted around 45 seconds. An aftershock was felt after 40 minutes — around 12:20pm. "We are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the quake.Tremors were felt across eastern and northern parts of the country, said JL Gautam, head of operations (seismology) of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)."Earthquake…between latitude 28.1 North and Longitude 84.6 East. The epicentre was located in Nepal," an IMD statement said. ‹There were reports of disruption in mobile services in India. Delhi Metro services were disrupted temporarily after the quake. Reports of damages in Nepal started pouring on Twitter soon after the quake. Witnesses said some buildings in Kathmandu had collapsed.
