6.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Tibet, Kills at Least 93

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County in Tibet’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning, killing at least 93 people and destroying more than 1,000 homes. The quake occurred shortly after 9 a.m. at a depth of 6.2 miles. Rescue teams have been deployed to search for victims, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.
Several aftershocks have been felt in the region, including neighboring Nepal. While the China Earthquake Networks Center recorded the quake as 6.8 in magnitude, the United States Geological Survey measured it at 7.1.
The epicenter was near Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city with a population of 640,000, which holds significant spiritual importance as the seat of the Panchen Lama.
A tourist near Shigatse recounted her experience, describing the terrifying moment when the earthquake caused power outages and forced her and a friend to take cover in their hotel room, the New York Times said.
She later captured video footage of collapsed single-story brick buildings in the area.
The Himalayan region is known for its vulnerability to powerful earthquakes. In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude quake in Nepal resulted in nearly 9,000 deaths.
On Tuesday, residents of Kathmandu (some 388 km away from Shigatse, as the crow flies) fled their homes as buildings shook, though no immediate casualties were reported in the Nepalese capital.
Lok Bijaya Adhikari, a senior seismologist at Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center, warned of potential damage in eastern Nepal’s mountainous areas.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, the former head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, highlighted the risks of avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods following such seismic events, especially as some residents remain in high-altitude regions during the winter despite a general migration to lower areas.