HONG KONG — A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck close to one among Tibet’s holiest cities Tuesday, killing a minimum of 53 folks, Chinese state media reported.
The earthquake, which was recorded simply after 9 a.m. (8 p.m. ET Monday), was centered at a depth of practically 6 miles, in accordance with the U.S. Geological Survey.
The tremor, which Chinese authorities recorded as magnitude 6.8, hit Dingri County in Shigatse, a mountainous area in western China that borders Nepal. Shigatse, which is about 240 miles from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, is the seat of the Panchen Lama, the second most necessary religious determine in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.
At least 53 folks have been killed, in accordance with Xinhua, China’s state-run information company, with 62 others injured. Many homes close to the epicenter collapsed and a few folks have been trapped.
About 6,900 folks stay in additional than two dozen villages inside about 12 miles of the epicenter, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Chinese authorities have dispatched practically 1,500 fireplace and rescue personnel to the world, the broadcaster added. The full extent of the catastrophe remains to be being assessed.
Tremors have been additionally felt within the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, 250 miles away, the place residents have been woke up by the tremors.
No harm was instantly reported there.
Earthquakes are widespread within the Himalayan area, which spans a fault line between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. In the previous century, there have been 10 earthquakes at magnitude 6 or above inside a 150-mile radius of Tuesday’s epicenter, in accordance with USGS.
In 2008, virtually 70,000 folks have been killed in an enormous quake within the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed practically 9,000 folks in Nepal and broken virtually one million constructions, making it one of many deadliest earthquakes within the nation’s historical past.
