A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit devastated Nepal on Tuesday with the epicentre close to the border with China, the US Geological Survey said.

Residents of the capital Kathmandu ran out of their houses after the quake struck at 12:35 pm local time, more than two weeks after a 7.8-magnitude quake killed more than 8,000 people.

The latest quake struck 83 kilometres (52 miles) east of Kathmandu at a depth of 18.5 kilometres, according to the USGS.