February 28, 2025 - An earthquake of 6.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale hit Nepal in the wee hours of today leading to tremors being felt in Siliguri, Bihar and Sikkim. According to India’s National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred around 2:36 am in Nepal’s Bagmati Province, which is about 189 km north of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The epicentre of the quake was Sindhupalchowk district.

No loss of lives or damage to property have been reported so far. Videos on social media from Darjeeling, Sikkim and Patna show buildings and ceiling fans shaking.

Sarbani, a resident of Siliguri, said that she and her mother were shaken out of deep sleep at around 2:30 am because of the tremors. “It felt like the jolt you get when car brakes are suddenly applied”, she recalls.

For Sarbani it was a double "seismic" shock because she was in the national capital when Delhi and the NCR were rocked by an earthquake on February 17. The Delhi quake had a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter Scale but because the epicentre was Delhi and at a depth of a mere 5 kms, residents heard a loud booming sound. 

“Experienced earthquake twice within a span of 11 days… scary”, she says.

Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre reported today's earthquake at a magnitude of 6.1. However, the German Research Centre for Geosciences reported it as 5.6, with a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). Again, NCS and the US Geological Survey both recorded it at 5.5.

Nepal is frequently shaken by earthquakes because the country lies on one of the world’s most seismically active zones. It is located on the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The collision of these plates occur at a rate of around 5 cm annually leading to notable geological activities, including frequent quakes in the region.