An earthquake with a moment magnitude of MW 5.7 struck western Nepal (with the epicenter in Ramidanda, Jajarkot District) at 18:02 GMT (11:47 pm local time) on November 3, 2023. Jajarkot, Rukum West, and Salyan were the most affected districts, with a death toll of 154 and over 366 injuries. Overall, 26,557 residential buildings completely collapsed, and 35,455 others sustained partial damage. Immediately after the earthquake, the authors undertook a field investigation and visited the affected areas. Geotechnical and structural aspects of this earthquake are briefly discussed in this paper. Geotechnical aspects, such as landslides along highways, rock falls, pavement cracking, and site amplification effects, which considerably influenced damage patterns in many areas, are briefly examined. Structurally, most of the affected buildings were made of unreinforced masonry and adobe, with a few being reinforced concrete. The failure mechanisms of these buildings are briefly explained. The findings highlight the critical need to enforce rigorous building codes and standards to mitigate seismic risk in vulnerable regions like Nepal. Additionally, the study aims to enhance earthquake preparedness and provide valuable insights for engineers and policymakers to reduce risks and improve disaster resilience.