BEIJING (Web Desk) – The world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest, has moved three centimetres to the south-west due to the Nepal earthquake that devastated the country in April, killing over 8,800 people.
Chinese state media reported the physical shift citing the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.
The 7.8-magnitude quake allegedly reversed the gradual north-easterly course of the mountain. Before the quake, Everest had moved 40 centimetres to the north-east over the past decade at a speed of four centimetres a year, and rose three centimetres over the same time period.
The earthquake caused an avalanche on the mountain, killing 18 people and leaving its climbing base camp in ruins.
The event prompted authorities in both China and Nepal to cancel all climbs for the year.
Everest straddles the border between the two countries.
Two earthquakes, on April 25 and May 12, killed more than 8,800 people in Nepal, triggered landslides and destroyed half a million homes, leaving thousands without shelter just weeks ahead of monsoon rains.
Read: Nepal resumes rescue efforts after second deadly quake
The second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3, did not move the mountain, the China Daily said.
