Earthquake in Tibet, at least 53 people died

The earthquake occurred in Dingri district in China’s Tibet region, near the border with Nepal, at 9:05 a.m. today (8:05 a.m. Hanoi time) with the epicenter at a depth of 10 km, according to the China Earthquake Network Center ( CENC).

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey said the earthquake was 7.1 magnitude.

“Dingri district and surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors and many buildings near the epicenter collapsed,” CCTV reported. A series of aftershocks were recorded after the earthquake, with the strongest having an intensity of up to 4.4 magnitude.

Media images showed many destroyed houses, cracked walls and piles of rubble scattered everywhere after the earthquake.

At least 53 people were killed, 62 injured and many houses collapsed. Aftershocks were also felt in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and many areas in India.

Local authorities are contacting towns in the district to assess the impact. The temperature in Dingri is currently -8 degrees and will drop to -18 degrees tonight.

Dingri district is home to about 62,000 people, located in the Tibetan plateau and belongs to Shigatse, the second largest city of this autonomous region. This region often experiences earthquakes, but today’s earthquake is considered the strongest in the past 5 years in an area with a radius of 200 km, CENC added.

The southwestern regions of China, Nepal and northern India frequently experience earthquakes due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

The massive earthquake in China’s Sichuan province in 2008 killed nearly 70,000 people. In 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred near Kathmandu, killing about 9,000 people, injuring thousands and being the deadliest earthquake in Nepal.