A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the northern foothills of the Himalayas near one of Tibet’s most revered cities on Tuesday. The quake resulted in at least 32 fatalities so far and caused buildings to shake across neighbouring countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, and India.
The earthquake occurred at 9.05 a.m. (0105 GMT), with its epicentre located in Tingri, a rural county that serves as the northern gateway to the Everest region. The quake had a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), as reported by the China Earthquake Networks Centre, Reuters reported.
National television broadcaster CCTV reported that at least nine people were killed on the Tibetan side.
Tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR and several North Indian areas, including parts of Bihar as well.
Here are the top updates on earthquake:
- A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Nepal sent tremors through Delhi-NCR and various parts of North India.
- According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 6.35 am, 93 km northeast of Lobuche, near the Nepal-Tibet border.
- The epicentre was located where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks.
- The quake struck Dingri County with a magnitude of 6.8 near the border with Nepal at 9:05 am (0105 GMT), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
- China said at least 32 people were killed in a strong earthquake that struck the Tibet region near the Nepal border.
- According to AP, CCTV said there were a handful of communities within 5 kilometres (3 miles) of the epicentre, which was 380 kilometres (240 miles) from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
- There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.
- Today’s earthquake was the most powerful one recorded within a 200-kilometre radius in the last five years.
- In 2015, nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 were injured when a 7.8-magnitude quake struck Nepal, destroying more than half a million homes.
- Nepal lies on a major geological faultline where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate.
