Earthquake in Tibet: Powerful Earthquake Strikes Tibet, Killing 32; Tremors Felt in India, Nepal, and Bhutan

Earthquake in Tibet: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale jolted the northern foothills of the Himalayas on Tuesday morning, leaving at least 32 people killed and causing massive damage across the wide region. Tremors, which has sent buildings swaying and triggered panic across Nepal, Bhutan, and northern parts of India, were felt immediately.

The earthquake occurred at 9.05 a.m. local time (0105 GMT), with its epicentre located in Tingri, a rural county in Tibet often referred to as the northern gateway to the Everest region. According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), amplifying its destructive power. The region affected, administered by Shigatse—a historical and spiritual centre in Tibetan Buddhism—has a population of around 800,000. The area is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most revered figures in Tibetan Buddhism.

State-run Xinhua news agency confirmed 32 fatalities and 38 injuries. Videos shared on social media from the nearby town of Lhatse showed crumbled shopfronts and debris spilling onto the streets, further underscoring the quake’s impact. Many aftershocks followed with magnitudes up to 4.4, further upsetting the region. Local officials are coordinating rescue and relief efforts while assessing the full scale of the damage. Emergency teams have been dispatched to affected villages to search for survivors and provide medical assistance to the injured.

The earthquake’s tremors were felt as far as 400 km (250 miles) away in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. Panic-stricken residents ran out of their houses, but so far, there have been no reports of any injury or damage in Nepal. In Solukhumbu district, home to Mount Everest, Chief District Officer Anoj Raj Ghimire said the quake caused significant shaking but did not result in much destruction in his district.

The quake shook the capital city of Bhutan, Thimphu. Northern Indian regions, including Bihar, felt tremors. No damage or casualty has been reported by Indian officials so far. Still, the region remains on high seismic vigil, with one of the world’s most potent geology morphs happening due to the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates in an ongoing collision.

Tuesday’s earthquake is a grim reminder to the world of this vulnerability. In 2008, a devastating quake in Sichuan, China, claimed nearly 70,000 lives. The 2015 earthquake in Nepal left nearly 9,000 dead and thousands injured. These past events clearly indicate that in this highly active tectonic region, proper disaster preparedness and mitigation are in high demand. As rescue work continues in Tibet, authorities on the entire Himalayan belt are keeping a watchful eye, prepared to meet any event of aftershocks and secondary disasters.