|
Quake: 6.7 in Tibet
|
John Henry
|
Jul 13, 2004 04:12 PDT
|
Powerful Quake Strikes Tibet; No Injuries
07/12/04
BEIJING (AP) - A powerful earthquake Monday struck an isolated mountainous
region of western Tibet, and the government said there was no immediate
information on deaths or injuries.
The 6.7-magnitude quake struck an area in the Gangdise mountains inhabited
mostly by nomadic herders. The altitude there is 16,500 feet, the Xinhua
News Agency said.
The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., put the magnitude of the 7:08
a.m. quake at 6. A quake that powerful can cause severe damage in populated
areas.
The epicenter was in Zhongba County, about 350 miles west of the Tibetan
capital of Lhasa and 220 miles northwest of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital.
Cracks were spotted in the walls of two houses in the county seat after the
tremors, which lasted for two minutes, Xinhua said.
Officials were sent to check on herders in surrounding areas, and a final
casualty could take 15 days, Xinhua said. About 20,000 live in the region.
``Communication is extremely difficult, and precise information on
casualties or toppled houses will take some time,'' Xinhua said, citing Dun.
Tibet regularly suffers strong earthquakes.
On March 11, a quake of magnitude 5.8 struck an area 300 miles northwest of
the Tibetan city of Lhasa. No deaths were reported.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040712/D83P7G1G0.html
|
|
 |
|
