On the afternoon of April 29th, two earthquakes occurred within three minutes in Rutog County, Ali Prefecture, Tibet, measuring 4.8 and 3.8 magnitudes, respectively.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Rutog County, Ali Prefecture, Tibet at 16:17 on April 29th (33.58 degrees north latitude, 81.93 degrees east longitude) with a depth of 10 kilometers. Three minutes later (at 16:20), another earthquake measuring 3.8 magnitude occurred in the same area at the same depth of 10 kilometers.
The earthquake at 16:17 was initially reported as a magnitude 5 by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), but was later revised to 5.2 and 5.3, respectively.
The epicenter was located 152 kilometers from Geji County, 205 kilometers from Rutog County, 210 kilometers from Gar County, 245 kilometers from Gaize County, 208 kilometers from the Ali Region, and 974 kilometers from Lhasa. The average altitude within 5 kilometers of the epicenter is about 5,581 meters.
In the past five years, Rutog County has experienced a total of 57 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or higher, with the largest being a 5.2 magnitude earthquake on April 13, 2024, which was 9 kilometers from the epicenter of this recent earthquake.
On the previous day, at exactly 7 PM on April 28th, a 3.9 magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County, Shigatse City, Tibet, at a depth of 10 kilometers. This earthquake was related to the aftershock sequence of the 6.8 magnitude main earthquake that occurred in the same county on January 7th.
On January 7th at 9:05 AM, Dingri County experienced a 6,8 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 10 kilometers, resulting in significant casualties.
Authorities reported that as of 6 AM on the 9th, at least 126 people had died, 188 were injured, and a large number of houses collapsed, affecting 61,500 residents. At that time, the magnitude reported by the US Geological Survey was 7.1. By 8 AM on January 14th, a total of 3,614 aftershocks had been recorded, including 3,104 below 2.0 magnitude, 458 in the range of 2.0 to 2.9 magnitude, 45 between 3.0 and 3.9 magnitude, 6 between 4.0 and 4.9 magnitude, and 1 between 5.0 and 5.9 magnitude.