An earthquake that measured 5.9 on the Richter Scale with an epicenter in Gorkha District rocked Kathmandu and most of central Nepal at 2158 hrs on Monday evening.
Kathmandu residents rushed out into the streets and people in high-rise buildings felt swaying and rattling for about 20 seconds. Two hours after the tremor there were still people out in the streets who refused to go into their homes.
The tremor was felt across Nepal as far away as Biratnagar, but not in Nepalgunj. Seismologist Amod Dixit told Radio Sagarmatha that it appears that the main tremor was very deep below the Himalaya and smaller after shocks were likely.
A quake of magnitude five in populated areas can cause considerable damage while a tremor of magnitude six can cause severe damage.