IMD says Nepal was hit by 8 tremors in less than two hours

NEW DELHI: Nepal's 7.3-magnitude earthquake today was followed by at least seven more tremors in a span of less than two hours, the IMD today said.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) also said that the 7.3 quake was not a fresh tremor but an aftershock of the April 25 trembler in Nepal which has experienced at least 102 tremors since then.

The first tremor shook Nepal and parts of North India at 12.35 PM, followed by a medium intensity jolt of 5.4 on the Richter Scale at 1.04 PM. Three minutes later, another 6.2 aftershock was recorded.

The remaining five tremors were recorded till 2.04 PM which measured between 4 and 5 on the Richter scale.

"Today's quake was not a fresh quake, but an aftershock. The Indian plate is subducting under the Eurasian plate and it will take time to adjust. At times it has been observed that aftershocks continue for months after the earthquake," J L Gautam, Head of Operations of IMD's Seismology Division, said.

According to IMD, since the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal on April 25, more than 102 tremors have hit the country which falls under Grade V, a high risk classification area.

The Nepal Seismology Centre, however, has recorded nine tremors with the major one measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale in Dhading, Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and Gorkha districts.

It also says that more than 160 aftershocks have been recorded since the first April 25 earthquake.