At least 32 people have been reportedly dead and 38 injured after a powerful earthquake hit Tibet’s mountainous Shigatse city on Tuesday morning.
The quake, which hit at approximately 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT), registered a magnitude of 7.1 with a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), according to the US Geological Survey.
Chinese state media, however, reported a slightly lower magnitude of 6.8, noting “obvious” tremors and significant damage in the area.
The earthquake caused widespread destruction, including damage to over 1,000 houses, followed by strong aftershock. Social media footage shows buildings collapsing as tremors shook the region.
A China Earthquake Networks Center researcher, Jiang Haikun, told CCTV: “After a major earthquake, there is always a gradual attenuation process.”
While he (Haikun) suggested the possibility of another quake of around magnitude 5, he added, “the likelihood of a larger earthquake is low.”
Shigatse, one of Tibet’s holiest cities and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, lies at the foot of Mount Everest. Rescue efforts, led by the Chinese Air Force, are underway, with drones deployed to assess the area, which remains without power and water. Sub-zero temperatures are complicating relief operations.
The region, situated on the fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, is prone to seismic activity. A reminder of the area’s vulnerability was the devastating 2015 earthquake near Kathmandu, Nepal, which claimed nearly 9,000 lives and injured over 20,000.
