Kathamandu: A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet on Thursday, further rattling a region still reeling from a catastrophic glacier collapse last week that left at least 1,273 people dead across Nepal and the Tibetan region.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Thursday’s tremor was recorded at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. The seismic event comes exactly a week after a massive chunk of a Himalayan glacier, accompanied by boulders and soil, collapsed on August 26, triggering one of the region’s deadliest flash floods in recent history.
The glacial avalanche crashed into the Lhende Khola river near the Nepal-China border, temporarily choking the waterway and creating a fragile natural dam. When the dam inevitably breached, it unleashed a violent torrent of water and debris downstream into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers.
The ensuing deluge obliterated homes, washed away vehicles, and destroyed crucial bridges and hydropower infrastructure. The disaster struck with such suddenness—despite the absence of heavy rainfall in the immediate downstream areas—that local residents had virtually no time to evacuate. Nepal’s Rasuwa district and its surrounding areas suffered the brunt of the devastation.
While initial reports attributed the devastating August 26 event to an earthquake, an analysis by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) later revealed that a 5.2 magnitude seismic signal recorded that day was actually generated by the sheer force of the massive landslide itself. Thursday’s 5.1 magnitude tremor, however, is a distinct and separate geological event.
Rescue and recovery operations are continuing under grim circumstances. The official death toll currently stands at 1,252 in Nepal and 21 in Tibet. However, authorities fear the casualty count could rise significantly, as over 4,700 people remain missing, including 4,216 in Nepal and 541 in Tibet.
The tragedy has also drawn widespread international concern. More than 600 foreign nationals from roughly 30 countries are among the missing, with a substantial number of Indian citizens unaccounted for. Additionally, the US State Department has confirmed that approximately 75 American citizens are yet to be located.
Across the border in Kathmandu, desperate families are enduring agonizing waits, scouring local hospitals and morgues in hopes of finding their missing relatives.