Powerful M7.1 earthquake hits western Xizang, leaving over 120 fatalities, China
A very strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.1 hit western Xizang, China at 01:05 UTC (09:05 LT) on January 7, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M7.0 at a depth of 10 km. China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) is reporting M6.8 and a depth of 10 km.
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located in Dingri County of Xizang Autonomous Region, 94 km (58 miles) NE of Lobuche (population 8 767), 141 km (88 miles) N of Khā̃dbāri̇̄, Nepal, and 163 km (101 miles) WSW of Rikaze (population 80 000), Tibet.
4 000 people are estimated to have felt severe shaking, 15 000 very strong, 57 000 strong, and 520 000 moderate.
The USGS issued a Yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities. Some casualties are possible.
An Orange alert was issued for economic losses. Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of China. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block and unreinforced brick with mud construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides and liquefaction that might have contributed to losses.
China Earthquake Administration launched a level-II emergency service response and sent a work team to the site to assist with disaster relief efforts.
Some 22 000 disaster relief items, including cotton tents, cotton coats, quilts and folding beds, together with special relief materials for high-altitude and frigid areas, have been dispatched by central authorities to the quake-hit area.
Over 1 500 local firefighters and rescue workers have also been dispatched.
The number of fatalities rose to 126 and the number of injured people to 188 late Tuesday (LT), January 7.
The earthquake emergency response in Xizang has been raised to level I, the highest level, the region’s emergency command center announced.
The 2025 Xizang, China Earthquake occurred as a result of normal faulting at a shallow depth, north of the boundary between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Focal mechanism analyses indicate that the rupture occurred along a roughly north-south striking fault, dipping moderately to either the east or west.
The earthquake’s location lies within the Eurasian plate, north of the Himalayan Mountains, where the ongoing continental collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates drives the region’s tectonic activity and mountain uplift.
The focal mechanism solutions for this earthquake suggest it involved normal faulting, with the fault oriented nearly perpendicular to the plate boundary.
The rupture area is estimated to be approximately 45 km (28 miles) in length and 20 km (12 miles) in width.
The region near the India-Eurasia plate boundary has experienced significant seismic activity in the past century. Within 250 km (155 miles) of the January 7 earthquake, 10 earthquakes of M6.0 or greater have occurred. Notable events include the 2015 M7.3 Nepal earthquake, located approximately 160 km (100 miles) southwest of the current event, and the 1934 M8.0 earthquake, about 160 km (100 miles) to the south-southwest.
The 2015 M7.3 earthquake was part of a sequence triggered by the April 25, 2015, M7.8 Nepal earthquake. Combined, these 2015 events caused 8 669 fatalities and widespread destruction across the region.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M 7.1 – 2025 Xizang, China Earthquake – USGS – January 7, 2025
2 M 7.1 – 2025 Xizang, China Earthquake – EMSC – January 7, 2025
3 Live updates: Latest on M6.8 earthquake in China’s Xizang – CGTN – January 7, 2025
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FYI — Hundreds rescued as search for quake survivors continues in Tibet —
– BBC News – Laura Bicker, Koh Ewe and Flora Drury – 7 January 2025 –
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– EXCERPT – More than 14,000 rescue workers have arrived in Tibet to continue the search for survivors after a strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in a remote part of western China.
– More than 400 people have been rescued, Chinese state media says, since the quake struck on Tuesday, some 50 miles from the base of Mount Everest, destroying thousands of homes.
– Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing arrived on Wednesday to oversee the operation, which is being hampered by winter temperatures that dropped to -16C overnight.
– Earthquakes are common in the region, which lies on a major geological fault line, but Tuesday’s was one of China’s deadliest in recent years.
– The magnitude 7.1 quake, which struck at a depth of 10 km (six miles), according to data from the US Geological Survey, was also felt in Nepal and parts of India, which neighbour Tibet.
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PS — Tibet (Xizang) Autonomous Region