Magnitude 7 earthquake strikes Tibet
BEIJING — A magnitude 7 earthquake hit China’s Tibet region on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people, injuring 32 and collapsing hundreds of homes in the northern regional city of Nagqu, official media said, reports BritPanorama.
Search and rescue efforts continued following the collapse of at least 339 homes, the Nagqu media office said, citing city government officials. Among the injured, 11 people were in serious condition and the other 21 sustained minor injuries, the media office reported.
Rescue teams from police and fire departments were building tents to house people displaced by the quake. The ongoing efforts focus on addressing urgent needs in the affected areas.
This earthquake is noted as the biggest in the region in the last five years, according to China’s national broadcaster CCTV.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake occurred at 10:33 p.m. local time, with its epicenter 191 kilometers (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet. It indicated the earthquake’s depth at 18 kilometers (11 miles).
China’s official Xinhua News Agency cited the China Earthquake Networks Center, which reported the depth as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). Nagqu is more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Tibet’s capital, Lhasa.
The immediate focus remains on the safety and recovery of those impacted, as efforts to restore stability in the region continue amid challenging conditions.
