Kathmandu (Nepal), Jan 7: Over 30 people were killed as six earthquakes, including a powerful one measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, rocked Tibet in one hour on Tuesday morning. The earthquakes shook buildings in many areas in India, Nepal and Bhutan.
Tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR and many parts of North India on Tuesday following a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Tibet, near the Nepal border.
News agency Reuters, citing local media, reported that at least 36 people were killed in the Tibetan region in the earthquake. China’s Xinhua news agency said that 32 deaths were confirmed, and 38 others were injured.
Several buildings also collapsed near the epicentre, according to Chinese media. “Dingri county and its surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors, and many buildings near the epicentre have collapsed,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
Strong tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR and various parts of North India, including Bihar’s capital Patna and multiple locations in the northern part of the state. The earthquake was also felt in West Bengal and the northeastern states, including Assam.
In Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, residents reportedly ran from their houses after strong tremors.
“I was sleeping. The bed was shaking, and I thought my child was moving the bed. I didn’t pay that much attention, but the shaking of the window confirmed to me that it was an earthquake. I then hurriedly called my child and evacuated the house and went to the open ground,” Meera Adhikari, a resident of Kathmandu, told news agency ANI.
According to the National Centre for Seismology, the first 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Xizang, near the Nepal-Tibet border, at 6:35 am. This intensity is considered strong and is capable of causing severe damage. Chinese officials recorded the magnitude at 6.8 in Shigatse city, Tibet’s second-largest city.
Two aftershocks of 4.7 and 4.9 intensity were reported from the same Xizang area.
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.
According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or higher within 200 km of Shigatse city in the past five years, all of which were smaller than the one that struck on Tuesday morning.
Eyewitnesses describe the scene as “apocalyptic,” with buildings reduced to rubble and power lines snapped. “I was in my bed when the quake hit,” said Pradhan , a local resident. “I rushed outside to see buildings crumbling around me. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
The Nepalese government has set up relief camps and is working to restore essential services.
(Agency inputs )
