More than 120 killed after powerful earthquake rocks Tibet

More than a thousand emergency workers in Nepal searched for survivors Tuesday after a strong earthquake rocked the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, according to China’s emergency management ministry. The United States Geological Survey measured the earthquake as a 7.1 magnitude at a relatively shallow depth of about six miles. At least 95 people died and another 130 were injured, according to state broadcaster CCTV, and the quake damaged hundreds of homes. The earthquake occurred about 50 miles north of Mount Everest, in the region of China’s Shigatse City, according to a translated statement from Chinese authorities. Rescue crews battled frigid weather as the temperature dipped well below freezing in the remote, high-altitude region.

Why is the city near the epicenter significant? Shigatse is the second-largest city in Tibet and is home to the centuries-old Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Local officials did not immediately report any damage to the historic monastery. The city is the traditional seat of a senior figure in Tibetan Buddhism, called the Panchen Lama, though he has been missing for nearly three decades.

Did the quake affect surrounding countries? Communities in nearby Nepal, Bhutan, and India reported tremors but did not immediately report any casualties. Most people who live in Nepal’s high mountain regions have migrated south for the winter, former chief of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Ang Tshering Sherpa told The New York Times. Strong earthquakes are common in the region because it lies along the area where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, resulting in the Himalayas. The Mount Everest scenic area in China was closed Tuesday following the earthquake and aftershocks.

Dig deeper: Read my report about religious freedom challenges in China that were discussed during the International Religious Freedom Summit Asia last year.