The Himalayan region of Tibet, in southwest China, was hit by an earthquake on Tuesday, January 7, which left at least 95 dead, 130 injured, and caused the collapse of numerous buildings, a tremor of land felt as far as neighboring Nepal. It would have had a magnitude of 6.8, according to the Chinese National Earthquake Agency (CENC), while the American Geological Survey (USGS) reported a magnitude of 7.1.
It is, in any case, the most powerful recorded within a radius of 200 kilometers over the last five years, indicated the CENC, and was followed by “multiple replicas” since Tuesday morning, the largest being magnitude 4.4, according to Chinese public television CCTV.
Lots of destruction and freezing temperatures
“The tremors were very strongly felt in the canton of Dingri (has around 62,000 inhabitants, editor’s note) and the surrounding area and many buildings collapsed near the epicenter”also clarified CCTV. This is located approximately 370 km southwest of the regional capital Lhasa, according to CENC data.
The authorities have sent emergency aid, including cotton tents, quilts and other useful equipment to withstand the harsh weather conditions, the Xinhua news agency said. In the region, temperatures are around -8°C during the day and could drop to -18°C tonight, according to China’s National Meteorological Bureau.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “do everything possible to carry out search and rescue operations as well as to treat the injured”according to CCTV. “Everything must be done to minimize human losses” and “rehouse those affected”, he indicated.
In Nepal, the earthquake, which was particularly felt in the capital Kathmandu, struck areas around Namche and Lobuche, very close to Everest base camp. “It shook quite hard here, everyone is awake but we are not aware of any damage at the moment,” announced Jagat Prasad Bhusal, an official from the Namche region in northeastern Nepal.
Terrible precedents in the region
The Himalayas lie on the divide between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates and experience regular seismic activity. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and injured more than 22,000 in Nepal, destroying more than 500,000 homes.
An earthquake in December 2023 left 148 dead and thousands homeless in the Chinese province of Gansu (northwest). The earthquake was the deadliest in China since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed in the country’s southwest province of Yunnan.
In May 2008, a very powerful earthquake, measuring 7.9, left 87,000 dead or missing in the province of Sichuan (southwest). The disaster was a national shock.
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