Magnitude 6.7 aftershock hits Nepal

A powerful, magnitude 6.7 aftershock has shaken the Kathmandu area of Nepal a day after the massive earthquake devastated the region.

The US Geological Survey says Sunday's aftershock registered at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres.

More than 200 Australians have been declared safe but scores are still missing after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was working to confirm the safety for 549 Australians supposed to be in the country.

At least 349 Australians remain unaccounted for.

The massive earthquake tore through large parts of Nepal, toppling office blocks and towers in Kathmandu and triggering a deadly avalanche at Everest base camp.

Emergency rescue workers carry a victim on a stretcher after Dharara tower collapsed on April 25, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: Omar Havana/Getty Images

Officials said at least 2200 people have died in Nepal, making it the quake-prone Himalayan nation's worst disaster in more than 80 years.

No Australian deaths have been recorded.

Family and friends of those still missing can log onto the Red Cross Family Links website for more information.

The family of Perth woman, Ballantyne Forder, who was volunteering at an orphanage, has finally found out she is alive and well.

Her sisters spent the night trying to track her down to find out whether she was safe.

The 22-year-old contacted her family on Sunday after helping move the orphanage where she worked to a field.

Liam Coburn Oliver, 18, and his aunt Dianne Joy Coburn, 59, from Victoria, are believed to be among the missing.

Liam's brother Darcy Oliver posted on Twitter that he is searching for information about Liam, who was travelling from Change, in Nepal's east, to Dharpani on the Annapurna Circuit.

Zachary Sheridan, 20, from Adelaide, and a 43-year-old man are also among the Australians missing on the Red Cross website where family and friends can post names of the missing.

Zachary's brother and Packed to the Rafters star Hugh took to social media to express his concern and appeal for information.

"Please. Anyone who is awake, please pray for my little brother Zachary who is on Mt Everest, I'd appreciate every prayer you have spare x," he tweeted.

Zachary has not made contact with family or friends since April 22 when he was at Namche Bazar, described as the gateway to Everest

The sister of Sydney-born filmmaker Zyra McAuliffe posted on Twitter a short time ago that she had been found and well.

Alyssa Azar from Toowoomba in Queensland is also climbing Mount Everest, aiming to be the youngest Australian to climb to the top of the summit.

She posted a message on Facebook informing her loved ones she was safe and staying positive.

"There was an earthquake and avalanche at the foot of Everest today," she wrote.

"Alyssa has contacted us and let us know that she was out climbing when this happened but is back at Base Camp now safe and sound.

"She is feeling good and waiting to see what results come from this. A few climbers have been freaked out which is understandable. This is just a reminder that no one ever 'conquers' Everest or any mountain.

"Mother Nature is in control and the climbers must manage themselves and their state of mind in order to do the best they can.

"Thanks for those who have messaged to check on Alyssa."

Alyssa Azar from Toowoomba was aiming to be the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest, she survived the earthquake and has been able to post on Facebook. Photo: Facebook

In a statement this morning, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 549 Australians had been travelling in Nepal and more than 200 were safe and had been accounted for.

At noon there had been no reports of Australian deaths from the quake.

DFAT has opened its Emergency Call Unit and has updated the travel advice for Nepal.

A young girl is found alive under the rubble of a home that collapsed under the debris of the Dharahara Tower on April 25, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: Tom Van Cakenberghe/Getty Images

It notes disruptions to telecommunications, transport and tourist infrastructure, and advises Australians to follow the instructions of local authorities.

DFAT said the Australian Government would also provide an immediate package of life-saving humanitarian support to Nepal as it responds to the devastation caused by the magnitude 7.9 earthquake of 25 April.

An Australian Crisis Response Team will travel to Nepal as soon as possible to assist in establishing the welfare of Australians unaccounted for after the earthquake on 25 April. Two humanitarian experts will also be deployed.

The Australian Embassy in Kathmandu is working closely with Nepalese authorities and other donors to assess the full extent of the disaster.

Death toll rising

The final toll from the 7.8 magnitude quake could be much higher, and dozens more people were reported killed in neighbouring India and China.

"The death toll has reached 1,170," Nepal police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam told AFP, adding that rescue efforts were still underway.

Emergency workers fanned out across the Himalayan nation to rescue those trapped under collapsed homes, buildings and other debris.

Offers of help poured in from governments around the world, with the United States and the European Union announcing they were sending in disaster response teams.

"Deaths have been reported from all regions except the far west. All our security personnel have been deployed to rescue and assist those in need," Bam told AFP.

The Red Cross (IFRC) said it was concerned about the fate of rural villages close to the epicentre of the quake northwest of the capital Kathmandu.

"Roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communication lines are down preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information," said IFRC Asia/Pacific director Jagan Chapagain in a statement.

Officials said 10 people were killed when an avalanche buried parts of Mount Everest's base camp in Nepal where hundreds of mountaineers have gathered at the start of the annual climbing season.

"We don't have the details yet, but 10 have been reported dead so far, including foreign climbers," Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha, an official in Nepal's tourism department, told AFP.

"We are trying to assess how many are injured. There might be over 1000 people there right now, including foreign climbers and Nepalese supporting staff."

AFP Nepal bureau chief Ammu Kannampilly, on an assignment to Everest together with a colleague, was among those caught up in the chaos.

"We are both ok... snowing here so no choppers coming," she said in an SMS on an approach to base camp. "I hurt my hand - got it bandaged and told to keep it upright to stop the bleeding."

Experienced mountaineers said panic erupted at base camp which had been "severely damaged", while one described the avalanche as "huge".

"Huge disaster. Helped searched and rescued victims through huge debris area. Many dead. Much more badly injured. More to die if not heli asap," tweeted Romanian climber Alex Gavan from base camp.

Historic tower collapses

Kathmandu was severely damaged, and the historic nine-storey Dharahara tower, a major tourist attraction, was among buildings brought down.

At least a dozen bodies were taken away from the ruins of the 19th-century tower, according to an AFP photographer who saw similar scenes of multiple casualties throughout the city.

"It was difficult to breath, but I slowly moved the debris. Someone then pulled me out. I don't know where my friends are," Dharmu Subedi, 36, who was standing outside the tower when it collapsed, said from a hospital bed.

At least 42 people were known to have died in India, including 30 in the eastern state of Bihar, while buildings in the capital New Delhi had to be evacuated.

People stand on top of debris from a collapsed building at Basantapur Durbar Square watching the destruction following an earthquake. Photo: Getty

The United States Geological Survey said the shallow quake struck 77 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu at 0611 GMT, with walls crumbling and families racing outside their homes.

The quake tore through the middle of highways in the capital and also caused damage to the country's only international airport which was briefly closed.

Kari Cuelenaere, an official at the Dutch embassy, said the impact had swept the water out of a swimming pool at a Kathmandu hotel where Dutch national day was being celebrated.

A young man speaks on the phone in front of a collapsed building in the city center following an earthquake on April 25, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: Getty

"It was horrible, all of a sudden all the water came up out of the pool and drenched everyone, the children started screaming," Cuelenaere told AFP. "Some parts of the city fell down, there was dust rising... There were many (rescue) helicopters."

Aftershock tremors could be felt more than two hours after the initial quake.

USGS initially measured the quake at 7.5 magnitude and later adjusted it to 7.8, with a depth of 15 kilometres.

Nepal and the rest of the Himalayas are particularly prone to earthquakes because of the collision of the Indian and Eurasia plates.

The thrust of the India plate beneath Eurasia generates a large amount of seismic activity, the USGS says on its website.

Tremors felt across region

A spokesman for Nepal's home ministry said the government had released around $500 million as emergency funds for rescue operations.

India dispatched two military transport planes to help with the rescue and relief efforts and there were similar offers from around the region, including Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Emergency rescue workers clear debris in Basantapur Durbar Square while searching for survivors. Photo: Getty

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said a disaster response was being flown to Nepal and that the Obama administration had authorised an initial $1 million "to address immediate needs."

In Europe, Britain, Germany, Norway and Spain also pledged support and assistance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences to his Nepalese counterpart Ram Baran Yadav and offered to provide assistance.

China's official Xinhua news agency said that 13 people, including an 83-year-old woman, were killed in the Tibet region.

The area has a history of earthquakes, with a 6.8 magnitude quake that hit eastern Nepal in August 1988 killing 721 people. A magnitude 8.1 quake killed 10,700 people in Nepal and eastern India in 1934.

"We are using all our resources for rescue and to help the displaced," Rameshwor Dangal, who heads Nepal's Himalayan nation's National Disaster Management Division, told AFP.

Chinese state media said 17 people had also been killed in Tibet as Beijing sent a team of 62 rescuers, accompanied by sniffer dogs, to help the hard-pressed emergency workers in Nepal.

The county's cell phone network was working only sporadically, while large parts of the capital were without electricity.

New aftershocks

AFP correspondents in Kathmandu reported that tremors were felt throughout the night, including one strong aftershock at dawn.

"It has been a sleepless night, how can we sleep? It has been shaking all night. We are just praying that this will end and we can return home," said Nina Shrestha, a 34-year-old banker who spent the night with hundreds of people on open ground in the capital's Tudhikhel district.

As rescuers sifted through the huge mounds of rubble, the hospitals were overflowing with victims who suffered multiple fractures and trauma.

"I must have brought over 35 people to the hospital yesterday," rickshaw driver Dibesh Gautam told AFP. "I have been working since 5:30 in the morning. I am scared too, but we have to do what we can to help others."

The 7.8 magnitude quake brought hundreds of buildings, including office blocks and a landmark nine-storey tower, crashing to the ground at around midday on Saturday.

Families grabbed whatever possessions they could muster and sought shelter on the streets, many of which had been split asunder.

Weather forecasters warned that rain was on the way, with dark clouds looming over Kathmandu that promised more misery for displaced survivors.