Death toll in Tibet went up to 126 as a result of the earthquake of magnitude 6.8 according to Xinhua Agency on AFP. It was reported that an approximate of 200 people sustained injuries after multiple houses were destroyed and streets filled with debris because of the earthquake.

Rescue teams look through rubble after an earthquake occurred in Shigatse City, Tibet (Reuters)

CCTV reported, that more than 1000 houses were destroyed in a remote and less dense area. Video footage that the broadcaster shared showed buildings that were destroyed dispersed across the streets along with collapsed cars.

Here is a list of 10 updates about the earthquake which shook Tibet and was felt in parts around of Nepal and India:    

1. During the Tuesday evening a 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet as per reports from National Centre of Seismology ( NCS). The epicenter of the earthquake turned out to be in Tibet, with the NCS marking 5:52 PM (IST) as the time of occurrence. The earthquake occured due to the tectonic activity with an epicenter 16* km underground.

2. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged everybody to put efforts in relocating people whose houses were destroyed with minimum damages or in benefiting the injured and resettling them, as reported on AP. CCTV mentioned that more than three thousands of rescuers participated in the operation and helped with the rescuing.

Vice Premier Guoqing Zhang has been dispatched to supervise the operations, whereas, the government confirmed an allocation of 100 million yuan for disaster relief. Tibet is regarded as Xizang and is located within the Himalayan region.

Rescue workers searched for survivors in villages that were in ruins and heavily damaged. Some civilians had to use ladders to climb on top of the broken bricks. An AP report states that the Ministry of Emergency Management in China published videos of civilians carrying two people on stretchers salvaging through the rubble of wrecked houses.

As per Reuter’s records, Tibet is and has always been a seismically prone region, with the region observing 100 quakes of 3 magnitude or more last year, and only 9 that were above a magnitude of 7.0 since the beginning of the 20th century.

The PTI reported that 22000 relief items along with warm material that would keep people warm at high altitude and frigid areas were dispatched by the central officials to the earthquake hit areas. These included cotton coats, jackets, tents, folds beds and even quilts. In addition, over 1500 local firefighters along with rescue workers have also been sent to the ground areas.

6. The residents of Kavrepalanchwok, Sindhupalanchok Dhading and Solukhumbu were also affected by the earthquake that hit Nepal, and it was devastating enough to make them flee their houses. People in Kathmandu panicked and emerged from their homes as shaking of trees, buildings and electric wires was observed. Reverberations from the quake were reported in PTI as a reason for general panic.

7. AP news too reported that grazing the Mount Everest region had to be put off owing to several aftershocks recording close to 150 and China having to take immediate preventive measures in the scope.  

8. Footage from a small temple in Kathmandu’s southwest depicts a pond tilted over leveling the Lodge’s courtyard. AP quoted a woman explaining the situation stating, “This is intense, the aftershocks have been shaking everyone”.

9. If state media reports are to be believed, it is estimated around 27 villages and three townships are within the exact vicinity of Nepal’s epicenter with a population close to 6900, and the CUAT on average around the region stated close to 4200 meters.

10. A Reuters piece reports that the earthquake had an extensive reach and was felt across the Shigatse area in Tibet with a population of 800000. The region comes under the jurisdiction of Shigatse city which is historically the center for Panchen Lama rule, a significant leader in the Tibetan Buddhism. Shigatse city after the earthquake was greatly destroyed as seen in the viral video released by Tibet Fire and Rescue.