Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Tibet’s Nagqu region, at least 16 killed
A 7.0-magnitude quake hit a remote, high-altitude part of northern Tibet on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and flattening hundreds of homes, Chinese state media said.
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck a remote part of northern Tibet on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens more, according to Chinese state media. Chinese broadcaster CCTV described it as the strongest earthquake to hit the region in five years.
Of those injured, 11 were said to be in serious condition.
Where and when it struck
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake hit at 10:33 pm local time. Its epicentre lay about 191 km east-northeast of Nagqu, a sparsely populated, high-altitude area more than 300 km north of the regional capital, Lhasa.
Estimates of its depth differed. The USGS placed it at about 18 km below the surface, while the China Earthquake Networks Center, quoted by the Xinhua news agency, put it at 10 km. Shallow quakes of this size tend to cause stronger shaking at the surface.
Homes flattened, rescue under way
State media said at least 339 houses and 20 livestock sheds collapsed, and hundreds of homes were destroyed. More than 1,600 people from the local county were sent to search for survivors and help residents.
Relief supplies that had reached the area included 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches and winter clothing, which are vital in a region where night-time temperatures fall sharply at this time of year.
The disaster comes less than two months after flash flooding triggered by a glacier collapse caused heavy damage in a border area between Nepal and Tibet.
The Tibetan plateau sits where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, making it one of the most seismically active regions in Asia. Search and rescue operations were continuing at the time of writing, and casualty figures may change.
Sources
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