Earthquake measuring 5.4 strikes Tibet, no casualties reported so far

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck Tibet on Saturday (Oct 24), according to National Center for Seismology. The quake struck at around 2:09 IST at a depth of 15 km with epicentre located at 32.532° N latitude and 93.732° E longitude, 510 km north-northwest of Pangin in Arunachal Pradesh.

This comes just two days after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Tibet, killing 16 people and injuring 32.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake’s epicentre was in a mountainous area approximately 190 kilometres (120 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu and 390 kilometres northeast of Lhasa, the regional capital. The quake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, according to the agency.

The earthquake also disrupted electricity and telecommunications services in the county seat, according to Xinhua.

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Earthquakes are relatively common in China, where seismic activity has repeatedly caused casualties and widespread damage. In January 2025, at least 126 people were killed when an earthquake struck the rural Tingri county in Tibet.

In 2010 a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Yushu, in neighbouring Qinghai province, around 280 km away from the latest epicentre killing at least 2,698 people. Nearly 300 had gone missing in the quake.

In August this year, another tragedy had struck the region. Flash floods and landslides devastated areas along the Nepal-China border, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and thousands missing, according to updated figures. The destruction was greater on the Nepal side (lower riparian).