http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/n ... mp/6464556A magnitude-7.3 earthquake has struck north-eastern Nepal, the US Geological Survey says, killing at least four people and injuring up to 12 others.
The quake struck at a depth of 19 kilometres, 83 kilometres east of Kathmandu - near the base camp for Everest - and comes weeks after a devastating quake killed more than 8,000 people and devastated parts of the country.
Four people died in the central Chautara district after the quake destroyed several buildings, a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration said.
"The situation in Chautara is that several buildings in the town have collapsed," spokesman Paul Dillon said from Kathmandu. "There are four fatalities."
Three major landslides were reported in the country's Sindhupalchowk region, with at least 12 injured, a district official said.
"The latest earthquake has left us shaken. I am still trembling," Diwakar Koirala said.
The earthquake caused people to run out of buildings in the capital Kathmandu.
There were no immediate reports of damage to buildings in the capital, but shopkeepers closed their shops, Reuters reported. "This is a really big one," Prakash Shilpakar, the owner of a handicrafts shop in Kathmandu, said.
According to accounts on Twitter, the quake caused widespread panic and major traffic jams in the capital.
Parents could be seen clutching children tightly and hundreds of people were frantically trying to call relatives on their mobile phones.
"I'm heading straight home," said Bishal Rai, a man in his 20s, who said he was trying to contact his family.
Oxfam Australia's Cecilia Keizer is in Kathmandu and said she felt the building she was in shake. "It was really terribly scary because the entire building started shaking," she told the ABC.
Stephanie March is in New Delhi
The quake struck just after midday, so around about lunchtime.
I just got off the phone to an aid worker who is based there in Kathmandu.
He said the situation was just one of absolute panic.
There were women running out onto the streets, carrying babies, crying.
There were just people absolutely terrified.
One man running out of the shower half-dressed.
They're just absolutely terrified, considering this does bring back memories of what happened and what devastated the country less than one month ago.
So we haven't felt any of the aftershocks here just yet, but I understand that they are being felt there in Nepal.
So obviously this will be a real blow for people's morale in Nepal there.
They're still recovering, they're still in shock from the earthquake last month.
So it's definitely not going to give them much confidence.
"I was on the top floor, so I stayed put. But a lot of our staff, they are really trembling and shaking and crying.
"It is really a very bad feeling, because people are already traumatised. We are fearing really severe damages again to buildings and probably also with some casualties."
Shockwaves were also felt across northern India where two people were killed after the powerful quake.
One person died in the town of Danapur in India's Bihar state, a state official said. Another death occurred in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state while two people were injured, according to Debashish Panda, the principal home secretary.
In India's capital New Delhi buildings swayed for more than a minute and people scurried into the streets.
Residents in the Indian town of Siliguri, near the border with Nepal, said chunks of concrete fell off one or two buildings.
The quake was earlier measured at 7.1, but was later upgraded by the USGS. A magnitude-6.3 aftershock struck in the same area shortly after, USGS said.
Tuesday's earthquake comes after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on April 25, killing at least 8,046 people and injuring more than 17,800.
About 600,000 homes were destroyed or damaged in that quake and more than 60 Australians were evacuated from Kathmandu by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Everest Base Camp was also evacuated after an avalanche was triggered by the April 25 quake, killing 18 climbers.
Mountaineers seeking to scale the world's tallest peak have called off this year's Everest season.
Nepal's finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat estimated the reconstruction will take $2 billion and has appealed for help from international donors.
Lucy Beck from Care International said the quake had scared many still recovering from the last disaster.
"This will have come as a massive shock (to people) who may have started planning to rebuild, trying to salvage things from the last time round," she told the ABC.
