Beijing (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A strong earthquake struck Tibet on 7 January 2025. The incident killed about 95 individuals.
It was reported by the U.S. Geological Survey that the earthquake occurred at 9:05 a.m. ET at a depth of 10 kilometres and generated several aftershocks. The epicentre is located near the Himalayan border with Nepal on the remote Tibetan plateau. This was reportedly situated 50 miles north of Mount Everest.
What damage was caused to homes and infrastructure in Tibet?
Apart from death and injuries, local authorities estimated at a news conference that 130 people were wounded in the quake. The earthquakes were felt as far as Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. “It was very powerful. People came running out of their houses. You could notice the wires from poles shaken loose,” stated Bishal Nath Upreti from the Nepal Centre for Disaster Management, a non-government organisation in Kathmandu.
Social media videos indicated impaired roofs, and shop fronts and remain piling on the roads of Lhatse County, about 86 kilometres from the epicentre. The area close to the epicentre is sparsely inhabited. The closest major area to the epicentre is the holy city of Shigatse, which lies some 180 km away.
In total, 49 aftershocks were detected Monday noon, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. In a post-quake report, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged administrations to make exhaustive efforts in a bid to search out survivors, ensure a reduction of loss, sufficiently house affected members, and, importantly, help safeguard and warmly care for winter weather.
2015 Nepal earthquake
A devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake hit the region on that very day on April 25 at a magnitude of 7.8. The quake focused near Kathmandu, where it left nearly 9,000 deaths and over 20,000 injuries. Also, nearly 3 million people were forced out of their homes because of the huge destruction it claimed for homes and infrastructure. It further ravaged a vast number of vital services, including destroying some 7,000 schools and seriously damaging the structures of hospitals.
It also triggered many landslides and avalanches, particularly around Mount Everest, where at least 19 people were killed. International response was swift, with India and China, among others, providing more than $1 billion of it. Humanitarian groups also sprang into action, helping deliver aid and get back on their feet.
