Strong quake in Nepal jolts several Bihar districts

Several places in Bihar were jolted by an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 that struck Nepal on Friday night, officials said.

As per initial reports, the tremors were felt in Bihar's Patna, Katihar, Motihari and a few other districts along the Indo-Nepal border, they said. 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.

There were no reports of any damage to property or loss of life due to the quake in the state, the officials said.

The tremors triggered panic among people, who rushed out of their houses in various localities of Patna and Katihar as a precautionary measure.

The earthquake was also felt across parts of north India, including the national capital region, the officials added.

This is the third time in a month that strong quakes have struck Nepal.