Lhasa earthquake
Oct 6, 2008 | 4:03 am
#1
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Lhasa earthquake
If anyone is in Tibet and could post information on the current situation in Lhasa following today's 6.6 magnitude earthquake and 5.1 aftershock, I would much obliged. Many thanks.
Oct 7, 2008 | 12:15 am
#2
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 100
Although not in Tibet, I'm currently in China and I can tell you the media coverage is almost non-existent. I actually was considering heading out West the week after next, but now I'm thinking that's probably not such a good idea.
From an article on the Chinese version of the CCTV website (which, possibly, might have less info than the English version), all I can see are the Lhasa itself wasn't affected as seriously as the smaller towns outside the city. It definitely doesn't seem like Lhasa was the epicenter...
From an article on the Chinese version of the CCTV website (which, possibly, might have less info than the English version), all I can see are the Lhasa itself wasn't affected as seriously as the smaller towns outside the city. It definitely doesn't seem like Lhasa was the epicenter...
Oct 7, 2008 | 12:19 am
#3
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scmp.com article
from scmp.com (mods, please delete if posting articles is not allowed)
Death toll from Tibetan tremor unclear; 74 people killed in Kyrgyzstan quake
Kristine Kwok, Choi Chi-yuk and Agencies
Updated on Oct 07, 2008
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet yesterday afternoon, with Xinhua at first reporting that it had killed at least 30 people. The official news agency later withdrew the report without explanation.
The earthquake in Tibet came a day after another one hit the area where Xinjiang borders Kyrgyzstan. There were no deaths reported in Xinjiang but more than 70 people, nearly half of them children, died in Kyrgyzstan.
Xinhua's decision to withdraw its Tibet report left a mystery hanging over the earthquake, which struck Gedar, in Damxung county, about 80km west of Lhasa .
"More people were still buried in debris, and more than 100 houses collapsed," Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying in its initial report.
The US Geological Survey website said the quake had struck at about 4.30pm. Traffic and telecommunications were cut off in Gedar, while soldiers and medical staff were rushing to the site, Xinhua had reported.
Xinhua initially said deaths and injuries were also reported in a neighbouring county, but the exact number was unclear. The Qinghai-Tibet railway and Lhasa airport reported that services were running normally. Xinhua also reported yesterday that major landmarks in Lhasa - the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple - were left unscathed.
The earthquake in Tibet came a day after a quake struck the area where Xinjiang borders Kyrgyzstan. The 6.3 magnitude Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan quake struck at 11.52pm on Sunday.
Xinhua reported the epicentre was Wuqia county. Four homes collapsed and more than 200 were damaged, but no one was hurt, it said.
A warehouse owner in Wuqia surnamed Zhang said there were many aftershocks yesterday. "Everything swung backwards and forwards when the quake struck last night [Sunday night]," he said. "I was watching television at home at that time. The clock fell from the top of the TV set and beer bottles toppled off the table when the tremor hit."
In Kyrgyzstan, the quake razed the village of Nura, located in the Tian Shan mountains at an altitude of 2,000.
A government official said the death toll had reached 74, with 41 of them children. More than 60 people needed treatment in hospital and 128 houses were ruined in the quake.
Victims were air-lifted to the main regional city of Osh, 220km away. "The helicopter will make as many flights as needed to transport wounded people needing medical attention to the regional centre," according to Kyrgyzstan's emergency situations minister, Kamchybek Tashiyev.
In Lhasa, residents said yesterday they felt a brief tremor, but life in the city quickly returned to normal.
"The jolt was very brief; it lasted for a few seconds, but it wasn't very strong in Lhasa," Tudeng, 65, said.
Qiangbagesang, manager of the Potala Palace - the former chief residence of the Dalai Lama - said telephone connections were briefly interrupted inside the palace, but that services had resumed soon afterwards. He claimed the quake had not damaged the museum, without saying whether he had inspected each of the palace's 1,000 rooms.
Death toll from Tibetan tremor unclear; 74 people killed in Kyrgyzstan quake
Kristine Kwok, Choi Chi-yuk and Agencies
Updated on Oct 07, 2008
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet yesterday afternoon, with Xinhua at first reporting that it had killed at least 30 people. The official news agency later withdrew the report without explanation.
The earthquake in Tibet came a day after another one hit the area where Xinjiang borders Kyrgyzstan. There were no deaths reported in Xinjiang but more than 70 people, nearly half of them children, died in Kyrgyzstan.
Xinhua's decision to withdraw its Tibet report left a mystery hanging over the earthquake, which struck Gedar, in Damxung county, about 80km west of Lhasa .
"More people were still buried in debris, and more than 100 houses collapsed," Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying in its initial report.
The US Geological Survey website said the quake had struck at about 4.30pm. Traffic and telecommunications were cut off in Gedar, while soldiers and medical staff were rushing to the site, Xinhua had reported.
Xinhua initially said deaths and injuries were also reported in a neighbouring county, but the exact number was unclear. The Qinghai-Tibet railway and Lhasa airport reported that services were running normally. Xinhua also reported yesterday that major landmarks in Lhasa - the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple - were left unscathed.
The earthquake in Tibet came a day after a quake struck the area where Xinjiang borders Kyrgyzstan. The 6.3 magnitude Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan quake struck at 11.52pm on Sunday.
Xinhua reported the epicentre was Wuqia county. Four homes collapsed and more than 200 were damaged, but no one was hurt, it said.
A warehouse owner in Wuqia surnamed Zhang said there were many aftershocks yesterday. "Everything swung backwards and forwards when the quake struck last night [Sunday night]," he said. "I was watching television at home at that time. The clock fell from the top of the TV set and beer bottles toppled off the table when the tremor hit."
In Kyrgyzstan, the quake razed the village of Nura, located in the Tian Shan mountains at an altitude of 2,000.
A government official said the death toll had reached 74, with 41 of them children. More than 60 people needed treatment in hospital and 128 houses were ruined in the quake.
Victims were air-lifted to the main regional city of Osh, 220km away. "The helicopter will make as many flights as needed to transport wounded people needing medical attention to the regional centre," according to Kyrgyzstan's emergency situations minister, Kamchybek Tashiyev.
In Lhasa, residents said yesterday they felt a brief tremor, but life in the city quickly returned to normal.
"The jolt was very brief; it lasted for a few seconds, but it wasn't very strong in Lhasa," Tudeng, 65, said.
Qiangbagesang, manager of the Potala Palace - the former chief residence of the Dalai Lama - said telephone connections were briefly interrupted inside the palace, but that services had resumed soon afterwards. He claimed the quake had not damaged the museum, without saying whether he had inspected each of the palace's 1,000 rooms.
