Many buildings are leaning precariously over the streets in towns and cities around Nepal after two powerful earthquakes in less than three weeks.

nepal second earthquake
Collapsed buildings are pictured in Charikot Village in Dolakha after the second earthquake Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
Women walk past a building damaged by earthquakes, causing it to lean to one side, in Sindhupalchowk district, Nepal Ahmad Masood/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
People walk past buildings in Kathmandu after a second major earthquake struck Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on Tuesday (12 May), hampering recovery efforts in a country reeling from a 7.8-magnitude quake on 25 April that killed over 8,000 people.

Traumatised local residents have taken to sleeping on the street, concerned that even more earthquakes could follow. The tremors have left areas of Nepal perilously unstable, leading to fears of more landslides, especially when seasonal monsoon rain begins to fall in the coming weeks.

At least 96 people were killed in the second earthquake, which brought down some buildings that were already fragile.

nepal second earthquake
Two women walk through debris in the early morning hours in Bhaktapur near Kathmandu Ahmad Masood/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
A resident of Kathmandu walks past rubble following a second devastating earthquake Jonas Gratzer/Getty Images
nepal second earthquake
Nepalese rescue team officials and a sniffer dog search for survivors in a collapsed house in Kathmandu Prakash Mathema/AFP
nepal second earthquake
A South American rescue team try to find a young boy who was believed to be trapped under the rubble of a house that collapsed following a second major earthquake in Kathmandu Jonas Gratzer/Getty Images
nepal second earthquake
Nepalese military personnel stand on a collapsed building after another earthquake in Kathmandu Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
A collapsed hotel is seen in Charikot Village, Dolakha, Nepal Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
Residents carry the body of a victim of the second major earthquake at Charikot Village in Dolakha Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
Relatives carry the body of Ramdal Tamang, 74, who died in the second earthquake, to a cremation ground in Sindhupalchowk Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
nepal second earthquake
The body of Ramdal Tamang, 74, is cremated in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

The second quake was less powerful than the one in April and shook a smaller, less populated area. It was centred between Kathmandu and Mount Everest, and was south east of last month's earthquake.

It hit hardest in deeply rural parts of the Himalayan foothills, hammering many villages reached only by hiking trails and causing road-blocking landslides.

More about earthquakes in Nepal