A strong one Earthquake A powerful earthquake rocked a high-altitude region of western China and parts of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of homes, sweeping streets with debris and killing at least 95 people in Tibet. Dozens of aftershocks rattled the remote area, trapping many others.
Rescue workers climbed over mounds of broken bricks, using ladders in some heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried on stretchers as workers walked over the jagged rubble of collapsed houses.
At least 130 people have been injured in the quake-hit area of Tibet on the Chinese side of the border, state broadcaster CCTV quoted the deputy mayor of Shagatse as saying.
More than 1,000 houses were damaged in the barren and relatively sparsely populated area, CCTV said. In the video posted by the broadcaster, the rubble of the collapsed building is littered with streets and crushed cars.
People in northeastern Nepal felt the earthquake strongly, but according to the country's National Emergency Operations Center, there were no initial reports of casualties or damage. The area around Mount Everest, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the epicenter, was empty in the depths of winter when even some residents move south to escape the cold.
The early-morning quake woke residents of Nepal's capital Kathmandu — about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the epicenter — and sent them running out of their homes into the streets.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors after an earthquake hit Changsu Township of Dingri in Zhigaz, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on Tuesday.
Xinhua via AP
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded its magnitude at 6.8. Milder earthquakes often cause more damage.
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The epicenter of the earthquake was in Tibet's Tingray County, a seismically active region where the Indian and Eurasian plates collide, enough to change the elevations of some of the world's highest peaks in the Himalayan mountains. Can cause strong earthquakes.
Tibet is part of China, but Tibetan loyalties lie with spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since a failed uprising against China in 1959.
Western governments and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Chinese government of abuses in Tibet, where it has cracked down on dissent while investing heavily in economic development.
The USGS said there have been at least 10 magnitude 6 earthquakes in the area where Tuesday's quake occurred over the past century.
About 50 aftershocks were recorded in the three hours after the earthquake and the scenic area of Mount Everest was closed on the Chinese side.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He called for all possible efforts to save people, minimize loss of life and resettle those whose houses have been damaged. More than 3,000 rescuers were deployed, CCTV said.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was sent to the area to lead the work, and the government announced an allocation of 100 million yuan ($13.6 million) for disaster relief.
About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media said. The average elevation in the area is about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the China Earthquake Center said in a social media post.
On the southwest edge of Kathmandu, a video shows water pouring into a street from a pond in a courtyard next to a small temple.
“It's a big earthquake,” a woman can be heard saying. “People are all shaking.”
Associated Press writer Benj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu, Nepal, and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
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