Powerful earthquake strikes close to Everest: over 120 killed
The earthquake hit China's Tibet region near the border with Nepal Tuesday morning
A powerful earthquake struck western China on Tuesday morning, very close to the Nepal border. So far, there have been more than 120 deaths.
The 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Dingri township, north of the Nepal border, on Tuesday morning local time. The epicentre would be about 350 km southwest of the regional capital Lhasa, long considered the capital of Tibet. It is therefore less than 80 km from the summit of Everest.
At the time of publishing, there are at least 130 injured and more than 1,000 homes destroyed by the earthquake. Relief will be complicated and long in coming, because the local population mainly lives in small, isolated villages, at altitude, and therefore difficult to access.
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This article was originally written in French for MetéoMédia and was translated to English for The Weather Network.