On January 7th, 2025, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County in the city of Shigatse, Tibet, with a population of 62,000, causing significant casualties. As of 3 p.m. local time, the earthquake has resulted in 95 fatalities and 130 injuries. Videos captured the aftermath showing collapsed houses and debris scattered everywhere.
The China Earthquake Networks Center officially confirmed that the earthquake in Dingri County, Shigatse City, occurred at 9:05 a.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers, with many residents reporting strong tremors. Over a thousand houses collapsed in the area, and the death toll continues to rise.
According to reports from the Chinese state media, the tremors in Dingri County and surrounding areas were strong. Dozens of aftershocks followed, with the largest registering a magnitude of 4.4, causing the collapse of many buildings nearby. A video on social media depicts the devastation in the streets of Lazi, with shops damaged and debris strewn across the roads.
Local residents described feeling their vehicles shaking as they were driving when the earthquake hit, with some expressing how intense the tremors were, causing their beds to shake violently.
The China Earthquake Networks Center posted on social media that the average altitude near the epicenter is approximately 4,200 meters.
The earthquake zone is surrounded by several villages within a 5-kilometer radius. The seismic waves affected Changsu Township, Quwo Township, and Cuoguo Township in the county, as reported by the Tibet Seismological Bureau.
Reports from the Chinese state media state that Dingri County in Shigatse City has a population of 62,000. Within a 20-kilometer radius of the epicenter, there are three townships and twenty-seven villages, with a total population of around 6,900. Moreover, the epicenter is approximately 380 kilometers from the Tibetan capital Lhasa and about 23 kilometers from the region’s second-largest city, Shigatse, with a population of 800,000 residents.
According to the data from the China Meteorological Administration, the current temperature in Dingri County is around -8 degrees Celsius, expected to drop to -18 degrees Celsius tonight. Survivors are left to gather around bonfires outdoors for warmth, further exacerbating the challenging situation.
The Shigatse City authorities reported that Dingri County and Lazi County experienced strong tremors, resulting in disruptions to communication and power supply in some areas, leading to a passenger plane being rerouted back. Most houses in Xiqin Township, Lazi County, collapsed, trapping individuals. The county chief of Dingri, Zaxi Zunzhu, stated that the earthquake was particularly intense in their county.
Experts have issued warnings that there may be more felt earthquakes in the coming days. Sun Shihong, a researcher at the China Earthquake Networks Center, emphasized that this earthquake was already considered a strong one, with intense tremors, highlighting the need to be vigilant about potential serious geological disasters.
Sun Shihong further explained that if the earthquake had occurred directly under villages, the damage would have been more severe.
The earthquake has disrupted local transportation and tourism activities, with some scenic spots closing down. Dingri County serves as a crucial route to the Mount Everest scenic area, which has now been completely shut down.
During the earthquake, the Everest View Hotel on a nearby ridge near Mount Everest also experienced severe shaking. CCTV footage shows the hotel, surrounding hills, and forests visibly swaying under the impact of the tremors, with a man seen rushing out of the hotel.
According to a preliminary analysis by the Hong Kong Observatory, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet with its epicenter located approximately 160 kilometers southwest of Shigatse.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also detected a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Tibet on the same day, with neighboring Nepal feeling the tremors as well. By noon on the day of the earthquake, a total of 49 aftershocks with a magnitude above 4.4 were recorded in the area, with the largest aftershock occurring approximately 18 kilometers away from the main epicenter.