A powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Tibet at around 8.03 p.m. on Thursday, raising fresh concerns in a region still recovering from devastating flash floods last month.
According to India’s National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred at a depth of 173 kilometres below the Earth’s surface. The epicentre was approximately 400 kilometres from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
The latest earthquake also follows seismic activity recorded in Tibet on September 3, when a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck at a depth of approximately 14 kilometres. In January 2025, another major earthquake measuring 6.8, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, killed more than 120 people and injured hundreds.
Experts have warned that rising temperatures, retreating glaciers and increasingly extreme weather events could heighten natural disaster risks across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Experts say that the latest earthquake has renewed attention on the region’s vulnerability as communities continue to grapple with the consequences of recent disasters.
The earthquake has come weeks after an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 triggered catastrophic flash floods. The floods swept away homes, roads and bridges, damaged hydropower projects, and left thousands of people missing, causing widespread destruction across the affected areas.
In Nepal, at least 1,455 people were killed, while 5,285 remained missing when authorities ended search and rescue operations. The country has estimated that nearly $5 billion will be needed for early recovery and rehabilitation efforts to support thousands of people displaced by the disaster.
On the Tibetan side of the border, Chinese state media reported 43 deaths and more than 500 people missing. Earlier reports had put the number of missing people at 558, including 260 foreign nationals. However, the full extent of the destruction remains difficult to establish independently because of limited information emerging from the affected areas.
-IANS
