Tibet Earthquake: Over a Dozen Killed, CTA President Warns Damage Could Be Much Worse

Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Penpa Tsering has warned that the damage from a powerful earthquake in northern Tibet could be greater than initially reported, citing limited access to information from the affected region.

A magnitude-7 earthquake struck Tangnezong district in Nagqu, northern Tibet, on Thursday night. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported 16 deaths and 32 injuries, including 11 people in serious condition. More than 300 houses had collapsed in the affected region, according to the report.

Speaking about the earthquake, Tsering said Tibet was a seismic zone and cautioned that the reported magnitude could change as more information became available.

“We have no idea about the impact of that earthquake so far,” he said, adding that access to information remained difficult.

Tsering said the CTA would seek further confirmation of the impact throughout Friday. Referring to earlier flooding in Tibet and Nepal, he said information from affected areas had also been difficult to obtain during previous disasters.

CONCERNS OVER THE SCALE OF DAMAGE

Tsering said the earthquake-hit area in Nagqu had a larger population than the region affected by an earlier earthquake in southern Tibet, raising concerns about the potential scale of the damage.

“The population is much more than what happened last time in the southern region of Tibet, so the damage could be more. We’ll have to see and wait for more information,” he said.

Citing initial reports, Tsering also referred to around 54 injured people and more than 339 homes destroyed or affected, while cautioning that the figures remained preliminary.

RESCUE OPERATIONS UNDERWAY

The regional emergency command centre in Xizang activated a Level-II emergency response to speed up rescue and relief operations. Teams have been sent to affected areas, while Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that railway authorities had suspended train services through the earthquake-hit region.

According to Xinhua, the earthquake struck Baqen County in Nagqu City at 10.33 pm on Thursday, Beijing time. The United States Geological Survey placed the epicentre 183 km east-northeast of Nagqu city.

India’s National Centre for Seismology said the earthquake occurred at 8.03 pm IST at a depth of 173 km, with its epicentre at latitude 32.368°N and longitude 93.853°E.

Authorities are continuing to assess the damage, and further details are awaited.

With inputs from ANI