5.3-magnitude earthquake jolts Tibet, tremors felt in Nepal

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tibet on Wednesday (September 9), with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).

The earthquake originated at a depth of 35 kilometres, the EMSC said.

India’s National Centre for Seismology (NCS), however, measured the quake at magnitude 5.0.

There were no immediate reports of deaths, injuries or major damage from the earthquake.

The tremor struck less than two weeks after devastating floods hit the Tibet-Nepal border region, killing and displacing thousands of people.

It was also the second earthquake to hit Tibet within a week.

A 5.1-magnitude quake struck the region last Thursday at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The latest tremor comes as rescue and recovery efforts continue following the August 26 floods.

Nepal’s disaster management authorities have reported 1,357 deaths and 5,326 people still missing, while Chinese state media put the toll in Tibet at 43 dead and 519 missing.

Combined figures from the two countries put the disaster’s death toll at around 1,400, with 5,845 people still unaccounted for.

More than 100 hydropower project workers are among those missing. Rescue teams have retained hope after two Nepali nationals and a Chinese citizen trapped inside a tunnel were rescued alive.

Nepalese authorities are continuing to collect information from across the country to establish a more accurate count of those missing.