By Joe Money and Gopal Sharma
BEIJING/KATHMANDU (Reuters) -A magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked the northern foothills of the Himalayas close to one among Tibet’s holiest cities on Tuesday, Chinese language authorities stated, killing at the least 53 folks and shaking buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India.
The quake hit at 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT), with its epicentre positioned in Tingri, a rural Chinese language county often called the northern gateway to the Everest area, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), in keeping with the China Earthquake Networks Centre. The U.S. Geological Service put the quake’s magnitude at 7.1.
No less than 53 folks had been killed and 62 injured on the Tibetan aspect, China’s state-run information company Xinhua reported.
Southwestern elements of China, Nepal and northern India are often hit by earthquakes brought on by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
A magnitude 7.8 tremor struck close to Kathmandu in 2015, killing about 9,000 folks and injuring 1000’s in Nepal’s worst ever earthquake. Among the many useless have been at the least 18 folks killed on the Mount Everest base camp when it was smashed by an avalanche.
Tuesday’s epicentre was round 80 km (50 miles) north of Everest, the world’s highest mountain and a well-liked vacation spot for climbers and trekkers.
Winter will not be a well-liked season for climbers and hikers in Nepal, with a German climber the lone mountaineer with a allow to climb Mount Everest. He had already left the bottom camp after failing to succeed in the summit, Lilathar Awasthi, a Division of Tourism official, stated.
Nepal’s Nationwide Catastrophe Threat Discount and Administration Authority (NDRRMA) stated the tremors have been felt in seven hill districts bordering Tibet.
“So far we have not received any information of any loss of life and property,” NDRRMA spokesman Dizan Bhattarai instructed Reuters. “We have mobilised police, security forces and local authorities to collect information,” he stated.
Many villages within the Nepalese border space, that are sparsely populated, are distant and may solely be reached by foot.
AFTERSHOCKS, DAMAGE
The impression of the quake was felt throughout the Shigatse area of Tibet, residence to 800,000 folks. The area is run by Shigatse metropolis, the standard seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the vital essential figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
Chinese language President Xi Jinping stated all-out search and rescue efforts must be carried out to minimise casualties, correctly resettle the affected folks, and guarantee a secure and heat winter.
Villages in Tingri, the place the common elevation is round 4,000-5,000 metres (13,000-16,000 ft), reported robust shaking through the quake, which was adopted by dozens of aftershocks with magnitudes of as much as 4.4.
Crumbled store fronts may very well be seen in a video on social media exhibiting the aftermath from the city of Lhatse, with particles spilling out onto the street.
Reuters was capable of verify the placement primarily based on close by buildings, home windows, street format, and signage that match satellite tv for pc and road view imagery.
There are three townships and 27 villages inside 20 km (12 miles) of the epicentre, with a complete inhabitants of round 6,900, and greater than 1,000 homes have been broken, Xinhua reported.
Native authorities officers have been liaising with close by cities to gauge the impression of the quake and examine for casualties, and China closed the Everest area to vacationers after the quake, it added.
The Tingri tremor was brought on by a rupture in what is called the Lhasa block in an space beneath north-south compression and west-east stress, CCTV reported, citing Chinese language consultants.
Since 1950, there have been 21 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above within the Lhasa block, the most important of which was the 6.9-magnitude quake in Mainling in 2017, in keeping with CCTV.
Mainling is positioned within the decrease reaches of Tibet’s Yarlung Zangbo river the place China is planning to construct the world’s largest hydropower dam.
Tremors have been additionally felt in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu some 400 km (250 miles) away, the place residents ran from their homes.
“The bed was shaking and I thought my child was moving the bed… I didn’t pay that much attention but the shaking of (a) window made me understand that it’s an earthquake,” stated Kathmandu resident Meera Adhikarii. “I’m still shaking out of fear and am in shock.”
The quake additionally jolted Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and the northern Indian state of Bihar which borders Nepal.
Thus far, no stories of any injury or loss to property have been obtained, officers in India stated.
