Kathmandu : Apowerful earthquake has jolted Jajarkot, the hilly district of Karnali Province on Friday evening.

According to Dr Lok Bijaya Adhikari, senior seismologist at the National Seismological Center, Lainchaur, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck Jajarkot with its epicenter around Paink in Kushe Rural Municipality at 8:10 PM.

Earlier, three minutes before the second one, a 5.2-magnitude quake had occurred with its epicenter around Rokayagaun at 8:07 PM, according the NSC.

The tremors were felt in Jajarkot and its surrounding districts including Dailekh and Surkhet. However, no casualties have been reported until the posting of this news.

Nepal lies in a fault zone as the Indian plate is constantly pushing against the Eurasian (Tibetan) plate, resulting in seismic activities in the Himalayan country, said Geographer Ganesh Kumar Jimee.

Jimee further said Nepal lies between the two tectonic plates — Indian plate and the Eurasian Plate — and their constant push against each other is creating energy. When the energy gets accumulated and strained, it releases in the form of seismic waves.