Beijing, January 7, 2025: A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck China’s Tibet region on Tuesday, leaving at least 53 people dead and many others injured, according to state media reports. The US Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the earthquake’s magnitude, with its epicenter in a remote mountainous area near the Nepalese border.
The quake hit shortly after 9:05 a.m., as reported by the China Earthquake Networks Centre. Rescue and relief operations are underway in the affected regions, with several aftershocks recorded, including tremors felt in neighboring Nepal.
The nearest major city to the epicentre, Shigatse, home to approximately 640,000 residents, reported significant structural damage. In Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, residents fled buildings as the tremors spread fear across the region.
The Himalayan region, known for frequent seismic activity, has experienced devastating earthquakes in the past. The 2015 Nepal earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, claimed nearly 9,000 lives and caused widespread destruction.
Senior seismologist Lok Bijaya Adhikari from Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center commented, “Given the magnitude, some damage is expected in the mountainous areas of eastern Nepal.”
Although many residents from Nepal’s high-altitude regions have moved to lower areas for the winter, a number remain in remote regions, including Everest, Makalu, Rolwaling, and Kanchenjunga.
Former Nepal Mountaineering Association chief Ang Tshering Sherpa highlighted the potential risks, warning, “There is always a threat of avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods following earthquakes in the region.”
