2025 Dingri County, Shigatse City, Xizang, China, earthquake with magnitude 6.8

The January 7 Dingri earthquake occurred at 9:05 on January 7, 2025, Beijing time. The epicenter was located in Cuoguo Township, Dingri County, Shigatse City, Xizang (28.50 degrees north latitude, 87.45 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers. The epicenter of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake is located within the Lhasa block of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. The nearest fault to the earthquake is the Dengmo Fault, which is about 11 kilometers away. The focal mechanism is a tensile rupture. As of 10:00 on January 8, 2025, a total of 660 aftershocks have been recorded.

On January 7, 2025, the National Committee for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief raised the level of national emergency response to the Dingri 6.8 earthquake in Xizang to Level II. The China Earthquake Administration has launched a Level 2 emergency response service. The National Health Commission dispatched medical experts to Xizang earthquake stricken areas for support; The Xizang Autonomous Region Emergency Headquarters upgraded the earthquake emergency response level to Level I. Xi Jinping issued important instructions on the 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Dingri County, Shigatse City, Tibet, emphasizing the full implementation of personnel search and rescue, minimizing casualties, properly resettling affected people, and ensuring safe and warm winter.

As of 19:00 on January 7, 2025, the earthquake in Dingri County has caused 126 deaths, 188 injuries, and 3609 collapsed houses.

Earthquake background

Dingri County is the location of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak. It is located in the southwest border of the motherland, at the foot of Mount Qomolangma in the north of the middle of the the Himalayas, bordering Dingjie and Saga in the east, Nyalam County in the west, Angren County in the north, Lazi County in the northeast, and the Kingdom of Nepal in the south. The average altitude of the county is 4500 meters, and the county seat is located at an altitude of 4325 meters, 243 kilometers away from Shigatse. The total land area of the county is 138600 square kilometers, with 13 townships (towns), 180 administrative villages, and 381 natural villages under its jurisdiction. As of June 2021, the county has a total population of 61785, making it the most populous border county in Xizang.

The villages within 5 kilometers of this earthquake (with a magnitude of 6.8) include Tangren Village, Xuezhu Village, Gareguoji Village, Meiduo Village, Chaji, Lakang, and Kangqiong. The towns within 20 kilometers include Cuoguo Township and Quluo Township. The epicenter is 34 kilometers away from Dingjie County, 36 kilometers away from Dingri County, 67 kilometers away from Lazi County, 71 kilometers away from Sakya County, 92 kilometers away from Angren County, 164 kilometers away from Shigatse City, and 379 kilometers away from Lhasa City.

According to the latest remote sensing images provided by the National Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Cuoguo Township in Dingri County, located at the epicenter of this earthquake, is surrounded by Changsuo Township, Quluo Township, and their surrounding villages, with a relatively dense population. From the image, it can be seen that most of the surface of Cuoguo Lake is still frozen, and the local temperature is relatively low, which will bring certain difficulties to post disaster rescue and resident resettlement.