Representational file image of a seismograph recording an earthquake.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
A strong earthquake jolted Kathmandu early morning on Tuesday (January 7, 2025). The earthquake measuring 7.1 magnitude on Richter scale was recorded by the National Earthquake Measurement Centre at 6.50 a.m. Tremors were also felt in Bihar’s Madhubani.
The epicentre of the earthquake was Dinggye, China, according to the centre. The epicenter was located where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts in the Himalayan mountains strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks.
The earthquake was felt in neighbouring Kavrepalanchwok and Dhading districts as well. People came out of their houses out of panic in Kathmandu.
However, there are no reports of any damage so far due to the earthquake.
Areas around Lobuche in Nepal in the high mountains near Mount Everest were also rattled by the tremors and a series of aftershocks.
“It shook quite strongly here, everyone is awake, but we don’t know about any damages yet,” said government official Jagat Prasad Bhusal in Nepal’s Namche region, which lies nearer to Everest.
Nine people killed in Western China
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck near one of Tibet’s holiest cities on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) morning, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said, damaging buildings around Shigatse and sending people running to the streets in neighbouring Nepal and India.
At least nine people died in Western China near Nepal. State broadcaster CCTV cited the Ministry of Emergency Management for the toll but did not say what caused the deaths.
The trembler at 9:05 a.m. (0105 GMT) had an epicentre depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the report added, revising the magnitude from an earlier 6.9.
Crumbled shop fronts could be seen in a video showing the aftermath from the nearby town of Lhatse, with debris spilling out onto the road.
Reuters was able to confirm the location from nearby buildings, windows, road layout, and signage that match satellite and street view imagery. The date could not be verified independently.
Published – January 07, 2025 08:20 am IST
