Close To 100 Dead After Multiple Earthquakes Rock Tibet

At least 95 people were killed and over 130 injured after a series of six earthquakes, including a powerful 7.1 magnitude tremor, hit Tibet on Tuesday. The tremors were felt in parts of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, shaking buildings and causing widespread panic.

Reuters, citing local sources, reported that the majority of the casualties occurred in Tibet’s Shigatse region, where 95 people lost their lives. According to Chinese state media, 130 others were injured. Several buildings near the epicentre collapsed, with strong tremors experienced in areas surrounding Dingri county. "Dingri county and its surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors, and many buildings near the epicentre have collapsed," said Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Shigatse, with a population of 8,00,000, is notable as the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, a significant figure in Tibetan Buddhism.

In India, strong tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR, Patna, and various parts of North India, including Bihar, as well as in West Bengal and Assam. The earthquake’s impact also reached Nepal, where residents in the capital, Kathmandu, were shaken out of their homes by the forceful tremors. Nepal’s disaster management authority confirmed that the tremors were felt in seven hill districts bordering Tibet.

"I was sleeping. The bed was shaking, and I thought my child was moving the bed. I didn’t pay that much attention, but the shaking of the window confirmed to me that it was an earthquake. I then hurriedly called my child and evacuated the house and went to the open ground," Meera Adhikari, a resident of Kathmandu, told news agency ANI.

According to the National Centre for Seismology, the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.1, struck near the Nepal-Tibet border at 6:35 am. This intense quake considered strong enough to cause significant damage, was recorded by Chinese officials as a magnitude of 6.8 in Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city. Following the initial shock, two aftershocks of 4.7 and 4.9 magnitude were reported from the same Xizang region.

The epicentre lies at the boundary where the India and Eurasia plates meet, resulting in powerful seismic activity that continues to shape the Himalayan mountain range, often altering the heights of the world’s tallest peaks.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV noted that in the past five years, there had been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or higher within 200 km of Shigatse, though all were smaller than Tuesday’s event.

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