A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Tibetan region of western China near the border with Nepal on Tuesday, killing dozens of people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake struck just after 9 a.m. at a depth of 10.9 miles in Tibet's Dingli province, Chinese state media said. State news agency Xinhua said at least 32 people were killed.
The state-run newspaper Nanfang Daily reported that more than 1,000 houses were destroyed in Dinli province.
Several aftershocks were felt in areas including Nepal.
The city closest to the epicenter of the earthquake was Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city with a population of 640,000.
The Himalayan region is prone to strong earthquakes. In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people. Residents in Nepal's capital Kathmandu rushed out of their homes this morning as buildings were rattled by an earthquake.
“Given the magnitude of the earthquake, there may be some damage to the mountains in eastern Nepal,” said Lok Vijaya Adhikari, senior seismologist at Nepal's National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center.
Most of the residents of Nepal's high mountain regions, such as Everest, Makalu, Lolwaling and Kanchenjunga, have migrated to low-lying areas to avoid the extreme winter cold.
Ang Tsering Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said, “Most people migrate to low-lying areas during the winter, but some still remain there.” “After an earthquake, there is always a risk of avalanches and glacial lake outburst flooding.”
Berry One Contributed to research.
