Kathmandu, Dec 1 (PTI) At least 31 earthquake survivors have died due to cold weather in the past month in the earthquake-affected Jajarkot and Rukum West of western Nepal, authorities said on Friday.

Among those killed, 28 were above 50 years old and three were minors, according to the police.

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An earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude hit Jajarkot in western Nepal on November 3, killing 154 people and injuring hundreds of others.

More than 26,000 houses were destroyed in the earthquake, forcing thousands of people to sleep in makeshift tents in the severe cold.

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The lives of 40,000 people, mainly children below five years of age, pregnant women, sick people, physically handicapped and elderly people, are at risk as the temperature dipped below zero in most of the villages and municipalities in Jajarkot and Rukum districts, onlinekhabar.com, a Kathmandu based news portal, quoted police and health officials as saying.

The earthquake survivors, who badly need shelter, have no other choice but to sleep under poorly set up tents without sufficient blankets. More people are likely to die of cold than from the earthquake in the affected areas, health officials said.

Cold weather has claimed five lives in Barekot Rural Municipality of Jajarkot district, where no one was killed in the November 3 earthquake, according to the report.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)