Kathmandu's altitude elevated by 80 cms after quake

KATHMANDU: The altitude of the Kathmandu Valley has risen by 80 centimetres after the devastating earthquake struck Nepal last month, the Survey Department said today.

The department came to the conclusion after conducting a 24-hour Global Positioning System (GPS) survey four days after the 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck the country on April 25, Director of the Survey Department Madhu Sudhan Adhikari told reporters here.

The Kathmandu valley was at 1,338 meters from the sea level before the earthquake. Now the altitude of the valley is 1338.80 metres.

However, the department did not say whether the altitude of the world's highest peak, Mount Everest at 8,848 metres has changed.

The death toll due to the earthquake has reached 7,652 so far while the number of injured has shot up to 16,390. A total of 2,79,234 houses have been completely damaged and 237,068 partially damaged.