Powerful earthquake strikes Tibet, rattles Everest region

Many villages in the Nepalese border area, which are sparsely populated, are remote and can only be reached by foot.

The impact of the quake was felt across the Shigatse region of Tibet, home to 800,000 people. The region is administered by Shigatse city, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said all-out search and rescue efforts should be carried out to minimise casualties, properly resettle the affected people, and ensure a safe and warm winter.

More than 1500 local firefighters and rescue workers have been dispatched to the affected areas, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Some 22,000 items including cotton tents, cotton coats, quilts and folding beds have also been sent to the quake-hit region, it said.

Tremors, aftershocks

Villages in Tingri, where the average elevation is around 4000-5000 metres, reported strong shaking during the quake, which was followed by dozens of aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 4.4.

Crumbled shopfronts could be seen in a video on social media showing the aftermath in the town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out onto the road.

Reuters was able to confirm the location based on nearby buildings, windows, road layout, and signage that match satellite and street view imagery.

There are three townships and 27 villages within 20 kilometres of the epicentre, with a total population of around 6900, and more than 1000 houses have been damaged, Xinhua reported.

Local government officials were liaising with nearby towns to gauge the impact of the quake and check for casualties, and China closed the Everest region to tourists after the quake, it added.

The Tingri tremor was caused by a rupture in what is known as the Lhasa block in an area under north-south compression and west-east stress, CCTV reported, citing Chinese experts.

Since 1950, there have been 21 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above in the Lhasa block, the largest of which was a magnitude 6.9 quake in Mainling in 2017, according to CCTV.

Mainling is located in the lower reaches of Tibet’s Yarlung Zangbo river where China is planning to build the world’s largest hydropower dam.

A magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Nepal’s capital Kathmandu in 2015, killing about 9000 people and injuring thousands in the country’s worst-ever earthquake. Among the dead were at least 18 people killed at the Mount Everest base camp when it was hit by an avalanche.

On Tuesday, tremors were felt in Kathmandu, some 400 kilometres from the epicentre, and residents in the city ran out of their houses.

“The bed was shaking and I thought my child was moving the bed … I didn’t pay that much attention but the shaking of (a) window made me understand that it’s an earthquake,” said Kathmandu resident Meera Adhikarii. “I’m still shaking out of fear and am in shock.”

One person was injured in Kathmandu when he jumped off the top of a house after feeling the strong tremors, Nepal Police spokesman Bishwa Adhikari said. The man was being treated in hospital.

The quake also jolted Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and the northern Indian state of Bihar which borders Nepal.

So far, no reports of any damage or loss to property have been received, officials in India and Bhutan said.

Reuters