Nepal aid workers on high alert following second quake

Save The Children Nepal Operations Room shows signs of damage following a M7.4 aftershock. Photo / Supplied via Twitter

Aid workers are on high alert following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that stuck Nepal yesterday.

The quake, which has killed dozens and injured hundreds more people, hit 82 km east of Kathmandu, near the town of Namche Bazaar, at the base of Mount Everest.

It has struck less than a month after the devastating April 25 quake that left more than 8,000 dead.

New Zealand Red Cross spokeswoman Hanna Butler said the five Red Cross aid workers from New Zealand in Nepal were safe but on high alert following the quake.

A statement released by the group said assessments of the damage had begun.

"Initial assessments by the Nepal Red Cross Society indicate that hundreds of homes have collapsed, many of which had already been damaged by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the country two weeks ago.

"Regions already struggling to cope with the effects of the earlier earthquake were hit hard."

Head of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Asia Pacific, Martin Faller, said the combination of rain and aftershocks were making the task of providing and distributing aid challenging.

"Today's earthquake has dealt a double blow to many of the same people who were hit by the 25 April quake. More people will now be in need of emergency shelter but they will also need support dealing with the trauma they have experienced," he said. "People are very scared."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have said they are in the process of contacting New Zealanders in Nepal but are facing difficulties with communication lines.

A Ministry spokesperson said communication was an issue in Nepal following the second major earthquake that hit yesterday.

"Communications remain intermittent in Nepal, and operating conditions are difficult. It may be some time before all New Zealanders can be contacted."

The Ministry are working with it's High Commission in New Delhi to ascertain whether any New Zealanders have been affected.

There are 45 New Zealanders currently registered on Safe Travel as being in Nepal.