7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Tibet:Epicentre at a depth of 10 km; no damage reported so far

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Tibet at 8.03pm IST on Thursday. The epicentre was in the Nagqu region, about 400 km from Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, at a depth of 10 km. According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC), the tremors were clearly felt in the local area. No information about casualties or damage to property has been reported so far. Tibet has suffered devastation from earthquakes in the past Tibet is among the regions of the world at high risk of earthquakes. The Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide in this region. Their movement led to the formation of the Himalayan mountain range, but it also makes the area prone to earthquakes. In January 2025, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Tingri County in Tibet. Around 400 people died in Tibet, while 13 people lost their lives in neighbouring Nepal. The tremors were also felt across several parts of South Asia, including northern India. Earlier, in 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Yushu in the neighbouring Chinese province of Qinghai. At least 2,698 people were killed and around 300 went missing. Flooding also caused devastation in August On 26 August this year, a large mass of snow and rocks broke off a mountain near the Nepal border in Tibet and fell into a river. This temporarily blocked the river’s course. The water later surged towards Nepal, damaging several villages, roads and bridges. According to official Chinese figures, 43 people died and 519 went missing in the disaster in Tibet’s Gyirong area. In Nepal, the flooding reportedly killed 1,455 people, while 5,285 were reported missing. Why does Tibet experience frequent earthquakes? What causes earthquakes? Earthquakes occur when accumulated stress along faults in the Earth’s crust is suddenly released, generating seismic waves that travel through the ground. The impact of an earthquake depends on several factors, including its magnitude, depth, distance from populated areas and the vulnerability of buildings. Shallow earthquakes can cause greater damage than deeper ones because seismic waves travel a shorter distance to reach the Earth’s surface, potentially producing stronger ground shaking in affected areas. However, the extent of damage also depends on local geological conditions and surrounding infrastructure.
The science behind earthquakes The surface of our Earth is mainly made up of 7 large and several small tectonic plates. These plates continuously float and sometimes collide with each other. Sometimes the edges of the plates bend due to collision, and when more pressure is applied, these plates start breaking. In such a situation, the energy released from below finds a way out, and after this disturbance, an earthquake occurs. ​