3.9 magnitude earthquake jolts Sikkim’s Mangan district

A 3.9-magnitude earthquake struck Sikkim’s Mangan district in the early hours of Tuesday, September 1, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

The tremor was recorded at 1:48 am IST at a depth of 7 km. The NCS placed the epicentre at 27.638°N latitude and 88.766°E longitude.

The earthquake was recorded as Nepal continues to grapple with devastating flash floods that have killed more than 900 people.

Nepal remained under a flash flood alert on August 29, with authorities warning of rising water levels in rivers and streams across several districts. A high risk of flash floods was also flagged in Nuwakot and Rasuwa.

According to the latest figures released by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) on Monday, the death toll has climbed to 903, up from 788. Around 4,247 people remain missing, while 10,451 people have been rescued.

Chitwan has recorded the highest number of casualties, with 272 deaths, including recovered human remains. Nawalparasi (East) has reported 207 deaths, followed by Nawalparasi (West) with 151, Nuwakot with 95, Gorkha with 62, Dhading with 55, Tanahun with 37 and Rasuwa with 24.

Among those missing are 25 Nepal Police personnel, 45 Nepal Army personnel, 13 Armed Police Force personnel, 15 Customs Office personnel and three Immigration Office personnel.

District Emergency Operations Centre data showed that 865 people were missing in Rasuwa and 1,548 in Nuwakot. Another 933 people linked to hydropower projects were reported missing, while 65 were missing from Makwanpur.

The number of missing foreign nationals stood at 592.

Rescue operations have continued across the flood-hit areas. The Nepal Army has carried out aerial rescues of 252 foreign nationals and 3,344 Nepali citizens so far.