Tibet, October 21 : An earthquake of magnitude 4.0 struck Tibet on Tuesday, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.
The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10km, making it susceptible to aftershocks.
In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.0, On: 21/10/2025 20:29:44 IST, Lat: 28.84 N, Long: 85.55 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Tibet."
https://x.com/NCS_Earthquake/status/1980653532354413018
Earlier on October 7, another earthquake of magnitude 3.2 struck Tibet at a depth of 10km.
In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 3.2, On: 06/10/2025 21:13:37 IST, Lat: 29.28 N, Long: 95.26 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Tibet."
https://x.com/NCS_Earthquake/status/1975231397515194669
Shallow earthquakes are generally more dangerous than deep earthquakes. This is because the seismic waves from shallow earthquakes have a shorter distance to travel to the surface, resulting in stronger ground shaking and potentially more damage to structures and greater casualties.
The Tibetan Plateau is known for its seismic activity due to tectonic plate collisions.
Tibet and Nepal lie on a major geological fault line where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate, and earthquakes are a regular occurrence as a result of it. The region is seismically active due to tectonic uplifts that can grow strong enough to change the heights of the Himalayas' peaks.
The Tibetan plateau attains its high elevation due to crustal thickening caused by the collision of the Indian tectonic plate with the Eurasian plate, creating the Himalayas. Faulting within the plateau is associated with strike-slip and normal mechanisms. The plateau extends in an east-west direction evidenced by north-south striking grabens, strike-slip faulting and GPS data.
In the northern region, strike-slip faulting constitutes the dominant style of tectonics while in the south, the dominant tectonic domain is east-west extension on north-south trending normal faults.
Seven north-south trending rifts and normal faults were first discovered in southern Tibet during the late 1970s and early 1980s using satellite imagery. They began formation when extension occurred some 4 to 8 million years ago.
The largest earthquakes in Tibet, with magnitudes of 8.0 or similar, occur along strike-slip faults. Normal faulting earthquakes are smaller in magnitudes; in 2008, five normal faulting earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.9 to 7.1 occurred in various locations across the plateau.
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