Tibet earthquakes kill at least 30; Potala Palace undamaged; Qinghai-Tibet railway and Lhasa airport in service

Hundreds of houses collapsed and at least 30 people have died after two earthquakes jolted Tibet on Monday. The first quake measured 6.6 with an epicenter 50 miles west of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. The second quake hit 60 miles west of Lhasa and measured 5.1, according to the the U.S. Geological Survey.

These quakes were in addition to Sunday’s two temblors that shook the Xinjiang region, which borders Tibet, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan also suffered a 6.3-magnitude quake hours later that collapsed a village and killed 72 people.

According to the Biz China Update, there have been seven earthquakes measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale in the Xinjiang region since 1889.

Xinhua News Agency reports that there was no damage to the Potala Palace and that the Qinghai-Tibet railway and Lhasa airport remained in normal service.

Resources & related links:

Map of earthquakes in the last week

Tibet’s transformation: A new age for Lhasa

Beijing-Lhasa Express the train ride of a lifetime

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Purbu Zhaxi / Xinhua]

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 1:18 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Asia, News, Tips & Advice, earthquake. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.