Powerful Quake Hits Nepal-India Border
A powerful earthquake centered in the Himalayan foothills rocked the Nepalese-Indian border area today, and shook this capital city 250 miles away. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The quake, with a magnitude of at least 6.1, was felt in New Delhi at 2:53 a.m. (2:23 p.m. PDT Saturday).
The largest town near the quake’s center was Almora, about 30 miles west of Nepal and 175 miles north of New Delhi in a rugged, mountainous region of scattered towns and villages.
The area is difficult to get to, and communications are shaky, so reports on damage were not immediately available.
An Associated Press reporter in New Delhi said the quake rattled the Indian capital. The temblor knocked out electricity to at least one neighborhood in New Delhi.
“The bed just started moving across the floor. The ceiling lights were swinging like pendulums,” she said.
India’s Seismology Department said the quake measured 6.1, but the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington said its preliminary measurement put the quake at 7.1.
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