“6.8-Magnitude Quake Rocks Tibet, Claims 53 Lives; Tremors Jolt Nepal and India”

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked the northern foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet's holiest cities on Tuesday (Jan 7), Chinese authorities said, killing at least 53 people and shaking buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India.

January,7, 2025: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the northern foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet’s most sacred cities on Tuesday, resulting in at least 53 deaths. The tremors caused widespread shaking across neighboring countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, and India. The earthquake, which occurred at 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT), had its epicenter in Tingri, a remote county that acts as a northern gateway to the Everest region. The China Earthquake Networks Centre reported the quake’s depth at 10 km (6.2 miles), as per Reuters. China’s national broadcaster CCTV confirmed that at least 53 people lost their lives in the Tibetan region.

Tremors were also felt in Delhi-NCR and several parts of North India, including Bihar. Key updates on the earthquake include:

  • A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Nepal sent strong tremors across Delhi-NCR and parts of North India.
  • According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake struck at 6:35 a.m., 93 km northeast of Lobuche, near the Nepal-Tibet border.
  • The epicenter was located at the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, which cause the Himalayan mountains to rise and alter the heights of the world’s tallest peaks.
  • The 6.8-magnitude quake struck Dingri County, near the Nepal border, at 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
  • China reported that the earthquake resulted in 53 fatalities in the Tibet region.
  • CCTV mentioned that a few communities were situated within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the epicenter, which is about 380 kilometers (240 miles) from Lhasa, Tibet’s capital.

The USGS noted that the area has experienced 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 over the past century. However, today’s quake is the most powerful recorded within a 200-kilometer radius in the last five years. In comparison, a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 2015 claimed nearly 9,000 lives and injured over 22,000 people in Nepal, also destroying more than half a million homes. Nepal lies on a significant tectonic faultline where the Indian plate collides with the Eurasian plate, driving the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range.

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