At least 126 people have been killed by a powerful earthquake in China's autonomous region of Tibet on Tuesday. According to Chinese officials, 188 people were injured in the earthquake. According to Chinese media CGTN, the earthquake occurred at 9:05 a.m. local time on Tuesday in Dingri County of China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, China's official agency for measuring earthquakes, an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude has occurred.

Earthquake occurred near the north-eastern border of Nepal through Dingri County center of China's Xizang Autonomous Region. The source of the earthquake was 10 km below the surface of the earth. The area where the earthquake occurred is located near the Everest region on the Nepal-China border.

According to the National Emergency Operations Center of Nepal, the magnitude of the earthquake in Nepal was measured at 5.3. The American Geological Survey USGS said that the earthquake was of 7.1 magnitude. 

The epicenter of the earthquake is 93 km away from Nepal. The shock of the earthquake was also felt in different places of Nepal, India and Bhutan. The earthquake was felt in Nepal at 6:50 am local time. The earthquake has also caused moderate damage in some districts of eastern Nepal. 

According to Nepal Police, the earthquake has damaged some houses in Okhaldhunga, Solukhumbu and Sankhuwasabha. The shock of the earthquake was also felt in India and Bhutan. According to the Indian media, it has also been felt in the northern region including West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Delhi. 

According to Chinese government television CCTV, there are 7 villages around 5 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. Similarly, there are two cities within 20 km of the center. Videos and photos of hundreds of houses destroyed by the earthquake have been released.

It is reported that more than a thousand buildings have been destroyed in the city of Sigatse in Tibet alone due to the earthquake. With a population of around 800,000, Sigatse is the religious center of the Tibetan Buddhist guru Panchen Lama. He is an important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. According to the BBC, electricity and water distribution systems have been disrupted in the earthquake-affected areas. 

According to Chinese media, relief and rescue operations are continuing in the earthquake-affected areas. The Chinese military said soldiers were involved in the rescue operation and deployed unmanned drones in remote areas near Mount Everest. Videos publicized by various media showed rescuers searching through the rubble and distributing blankets to the affected people to protect them from the harsh winter. According to the China Climate Administration, the current temperature in Dinggri County is minus 8 degrees Celsius. The temperature is expected to drop to minus 18 at night. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered a "full-scale search and rescue effort" to reduce the damage caused by the earthquake on Tuesday morning and arrange for the rehabilitation of affected people. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said he was deeply saddened by the news of the earthquake. "I pray for those who lost their lives and wish the speedy recovery of all those injured," the Dalai Lama said in a statement.

Similarly, President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli have also expressed their grief over the damage caused by Tuesday's earthquake. President Paudel and Prime Minister Oli have expressed their grief over the human and material damage caused by the earthquake through social network X (Twitter).

'The risk of a big earthquake remains'

How did the earthquake happen on Tuesday morning? 

The Himalayas should be remembered as an area of ​​2500 km from Afghanistan to Myanmar. The middle 800 km of Himalayas are in Nepal. To the north of the mountain is Tibet in China. It is a part of the Eurasian plate. The Indian plate lies under the land of Nepal. Earthquakes occur when the Indian plate rubs beneath the Eurasian plate. The Indian plate is subducting under the Eurasian plate at a rate of 4 cm per year. It penetrates from below, but the Himalayas of Nepal do not allow it to penetrate properly, causing friction, which is the main cause of earthquakes.

What is the risk to Nepal when this kind of earthquake is happening?

If a big earthquake occurs in Tibet, Nepal will be at risk. The strength of earthquakes accumulated in Nepal is similar. The current earthquake has not released. We have felt the shock of the earthquake in Tibet only in Nepal. An earthquake in Tibet does not reduce the risk of an earthquake in Nepal. 

There is still a possibility of an earthquake in Nepal. For example, earthquakes centered in Gorkha did not reduce the risk of earthquakes going west. An earthquake passing through one epicenter does not reduce the risk of an earthquake passing through another epicenter. Even within Nepal, earthquakes occurring at different levels are not the same. While small earthquakes are occurring in the west, there are less in the east. 

Small nudges reduce big risks?

It has been proven in Nepal that it is a big earthquake to bring the accumulated power. Small earthquakes do not reduce power, but they do. But how much power is lost from small earthquakes depends on whether the big risk is reduced. Earthquakes in our area carry only a negligible amount of the force of large earthquakes. Therefore, the risk of a large earthquake remains the same.