Key points
- Temperature at epicentre minus 18°C to 0.
- US Geological Survey reported quake as magnitude 7.1
- Tibet region is home to around 62,000 people
BEIJING: Rescue workers in China’s Dingri County – the epicentre of the deadly earthquake – continue to brave temperatures in the range of minus 18°C to 0, to save lives and minimise casualties as deaths from the catastrophe reached at least 95 until last reports.
The temperature in Dingri County, the epicentre on Tuesday was forecasted to range from minus 18 degrees Celsius to zero, according to Xinhua.
A powerful earthquake in China’s remote Tibet region killed at least 95 people and collapsed “many buildings” on Tuesday, state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, according to AFP.
The quake struck Dingri county with a magnitude of 6.8 near the border with Nepal at 9:05 am (0105 GMT), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The US Geological Survey reported the quake as magnitude 7.1.
“Dingri county and its surrounding areas experienced very strong tremors, and many buildings near the epicentre have collapsed,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
“Multiple aftershocks”
“The reporter learned that nine people have been confirmed dead so far,” adding that as of 10 am, “multiple aftershocks” had been recorded, the largest measuring 4.4 in magnitude.
Xinhua news agency said that “local authorities are reaching out to various townships in the county to assess the impact of the quake”.
The high-altitude county in the Tibet region is home to around 62,000 people and situated on the Chinese side of Mount Everest.
While earthquakes are common in the region, Tuesday’s quake was the most powerful recorded within a 200-kilometre radius in the last five years, the CENC added.
As well as Kathmandu, areas around Lobuche in Nepal in the high mountains near Everest were also rattled by the tremor and aftershocks.
“Major faultline”
“It shook quite strongly here, everyone is awake, but we don’t know about any damages yet,” said government official Jagat Prasad Bhusal in Nepal’s Namche region, which lies nearer to Everest.
Nepal lies on a major geological faultline where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate, forming the Himalayas, and earthquakes are a regular occurrence.
In 2015, nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 were injured when a 7.8-magnitude quake struck Nepal, destroying more than half a million homes, according to AFP.
“All-out” rescue effort
According to News18, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered “all-out” rescue efforts to save lives and minimise casualties.
According to Xinhua, rescuers are braving freezing temperatures in combing through rubble in their search and rescue of survivors after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted a county in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning.
Fifty-three people have been confirmed dead, and 62 others injured as of Tuesday noon, after the quake jolted Dingri County in the city of Xigaze at 9:05 a.m. Tuesday (Beijing Time).
The earthquake was distinctly felt in the county, Tashi Dondrup, the county head of Dingri told Xinhua.
The epicentre
The epicenter was located in Tsogo Township of Dingri. The 6.8-magnitude earthquake is the strongest tremor recorded in the county during the past five years.
The quake hit at a depth of 10 km, according to a report issued by the China Earthquake Networks Center.
According to a weather forecast from China’s National Meteorological Center, the temperature in Dingri County on Tuesday would range from minus 18 degrees Celsius to zero.
Official data shows that Dingri County has a population of over 60,000 people, and approximately 6,900 people live within a 20-km radius of the epicenter.
Over 1,000 houses damaged
A preliminary survey revealed that more than 1,000 houses had sustained varying degrees of damage. Some of these houses have been reduced to rubble.
The first batch of rescuers started rescue work as soon as they arrived in Dingri County, China’s firefighting authorities said.
As of 11:40 am, over 1,500 local firefighters and rescue workers had been dispatched to the affected areas.
In view of the severity of the disaster, the China Earthquake Administration launched a level-II emergency response and sent a work team to the site to assist with local disaster relief efforts.
The office of the State Council earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management also initiated level-III emergency responses for earthquakes on Tuesday.
Some 22,000 disaster relief items, including cotton tents, cotton coats, quilts and folding beds, together with special relief materials for high-altitude and frigid areas, have been dispatched by central authorities to the quake-hit region.
Shortly after the earthquake, the Chinese military sent a drone to survey the epicenter area, the People’s Liberation Army Western Theater Command said.
Meanwhile, the theater command’s air force immediately activated a disaster relief emergency plan, organizing multiple transport aircraft, medical planes, helicopters and ground forces to stand by.
