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Rescuers battled landslides and heavy rains on Monday to reach areas hit by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake over the weekend that killed more than 60 people in China, India and Nepal. The earthquake struck the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim at 6:10 pm at a relatively shallow depth of 19.7 kilometers near India's border with Nepal, followed by two minor aftershocks minutes later. The Indian Meteorological Department said that the quake had a magnitude of 6.8. But the US Geological Survey, initially reporting the quake at 6.8, upgraded it to 6.9. The tremor was felt by people in the region as far as New Delhi, Dhaka and Lhasa, capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region. "The tremor lasted for about one minute. Because of experience from previous drills, we quickly climbed down to open areas," Yang Dongyun, an employee from a travel agency in Lhasa whose office is on the 10th floor, told the Global Times. "Most of the residents on the ground felt nothing abnormal. We went back to the office after about 30 minutes," Yang said. "We experience such tremors at least twice every year. There is no need to worry about the earthquake's impact on Tibet's tourism," he added. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the earthquake affected 13 counties in Tibet. In Yadong county, Xigaze Prefecture, 40 kilometers away from the epicenter, seven people were killed and 24 others were injured. |
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