Death toll rises to 53, over 60 injured after earthquakes hit Tibet near Nepal border
Agencies
At least 53 people were killed and 62 others were injured in earthquake which hit western China near Nepal with a magnitude of 7.1 on Tuesday morning, reports stated.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake measuring 7.1 magnitude was centered in the Tibet region at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). According to an AP report, China recorded the earthquake at 6.8 magnitude.
The location of the epicenter was where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains. According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, the average altitude around the epicenter is 4,200 meters (13,800 feet).
The epicenter of the earthquake is located 380 kilometers from Tibet’s capital Lhasa and only a handful of communities were there in the 5 kilometers radius of the epicenter, reported CCTV.
The USGS further said that there have been at least 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century.
In Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, residents ran out of their homes as they were woken up by the earthquake tremors. The shockwaves also were also felt in parts of northern India. The location of Tuesday’s earthquake is in a region which is prone to earthquakes.
The USGS, in its tectonic summary of the earthquake, stated “The January 7, 2025, M7.1 earthquake near Xizang, China, occurred as the result of normal faulting at shallow depth north of the boundary between the Eurasia and Indian plates.”
USGS further added, “Focal mechanism solutions indicate that rupture occurred on a roughly north-south striking fault, dipping moderately to either to the east or to the west.”
