Taplejung, May 16:

A series of earthquakes today created panic among residents of Taplejung’s eastern remote

villages. Cracks appeared in most of the houses and people were forced to spend the night in the open, locals said. The jolt of the tremor was first felt at 10:00 am. The tremors destroyed rooftops of schools and houses.

Mehele, Surumkhil and Khebang VDCs were most affected by the earthquakes, one Gyanu Shrestha from Mehele told this daily over the telephone. Kalikhola, Chadewa, Angkho, Limbudin, Sajlakhu, Tellok, Amegudin and Sinam VDCs were also affected, he said. Over 40 primary, lower secondary and secondary schools remained closed after the incident. Students and teachers ran for safety when the first tremor hit the area, said a teacher at the Nilgiri secondary school at Mehele, Indra Prasad Katuwal.

The earthquakes recurred at 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm. The land began to emit smoke after the earthquakes, said one Bir Bahadur Rai of Mehele. The earthquakes also caused landslides in some areas, he added. There was no report of human casualty, but some cattle died in the landslides, locals said.

Around 15,000 local residents stayed in the open due to fear of another earthquake, Taplejung CDO Bhim Nath Dawadi said quoting the locals. Security personnel and Red Cross officials from local Tellok have been mobilised for rescue operation, he added. Although the rescue operation began this afternoon, details have not been received yet, he said. The Richter scale of the earthquakes could not be known due to lack of Seismograph in the region.

An official at the Red Cross Taplejung branch, Ganesh Adhikari, said a team of Red Cross has been mobilised for rescue. He said preparation is on to dispatch another rescue team from district headquarters Taplejung. Details are not available due to remoteness of the area, said Taplejung District Administration Office.