Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Hits Tibet, Kills at Least 126

People stand amidst damaged houses in the aftermath of an earthquake in Tonglai Village, Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, Tibet, on Jan. 7, 2025. Xinhua via AP

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake, followed by multiple strong 5.0 magnitude aftershocks, was recorded on the morning of Jan. 7 in Tibet, near the border with Nepal. At least 126 people were killed, 188 were injured, and about 1,000 houses damaged, Chinese state media reported.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the quake was about 50 miles northeast of Mount Everest and had a depth of around 6.2 miles. It occurred at 9:05 a.m. local time. The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded the quake as a magnitude 6.8.

The actual number of casualties from such events may be much higher as the Chinese regime routinely suppresses or alters information.

State broadcaster CCTV said there are a handful of communities within 3 miles of the epicenter, which was 240 miles from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and about 14 miles from the region’s second-largest city of Shigatse, known as Xigaze in Chinese.

About 140 miles away in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, the earthquake woke up residents and sent them running out of their homes into the streets. No information was immediately available from the remote, mountainous areas of Nepal closer to the epicenter.

According to Lilathar Awasthi, a tourism department official, a German citizen is currently the only person with a permit to climb Mount Everest. However, he had already left base camp after failing to reach the summit.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) confirmed that tremors were felt in seven hill districts of the country, all bordering Tibet.

NDRRMA spokesman Dizan Bhattarai told Reuters, “So far we have not received any information of any loss of life and property. We have mobilised police, security forces and local authorities to collect information.”

The area is prone to earthquakes, being on the fault line marking the collision zone of the Eurasia and Indian plates marked by the Himalayas.

There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.

In 2015, two earthquakes greater than magnitude 7 hit nearby Nepal, killing around 8,600 people and causing widespread damage.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.