According to Nepalese authorities, their focus is on searching for survivors, following a strong earthquake that rattled districts in northwestern Nepal just around midnight Friday, killing at least 150 people and injuring dozens more.

On Saturday, officials said the death toll is expected to rise, as communications were still cut off in many places.

Authorities said that in Jajarkot district, the quake’s epicenter, at least 92 people had been killed, and another 36 in neighboring Rukum district.

Jajarkot is about 400 kilometres northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 17 kilometres.