BEIJING (AFP) - The world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, moved three centimetres to the south-west because of the Nepal earthquake that devastated the country in April, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

The 7.8-magnitude quake reversed the gradual north-easterly course of the mountain, according to a report in the state-run China Daily, citing the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

Before the quake, Everest had moved 40 centimetres to the northeast over the past decade at a speed of four centimetres a year, the report said. The mountain also rose three centimetres over the same time period.

The earthquake caused an avalanche on Everest, killing 18 people and leaving its climbing base camp in ruins. It prompted authorities in both China and Nepal to cancel all climbs for this year.

The mountain straddles the border between the two countries.

Two earthquakes, on April 25 and May 12, killed more than 8,700 people in Nepal, triggered landslides and destroyed half a million homes, leaving thousands without shelter just weeks ahead of monsoon rains.

The second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3, did not move the mountain, China Daily said.