A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Tibet on Thursday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). The tremor came as rescue and recovery efforts continued after catastrophic flooding near the Gyirong border crossing with Nepal last week.
China fully reopened the only road to the crossing on Wednesday after damaged sections were repaired, allowing heavy machinery to reach the main disaster zone for the first time, Reuters reported.
Parts of the G216 national highway had been washed away, forcing authorities to airdrop equipment and supplies to rescuers. Some teams also trekked through mountainous terrain to reach the affected area.
The earthquake comes more than a week after a glacier collapsed near the Tibet-Nepal border, triggering a powerful flow of ice, rocks and water that caused extensive damage across settlements and valleys on both sides. Media reports said the disaster has claimed at least 1,268 lives so far, while more than 4,200 people are still missing.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the disaster's link to climate change must be strongly raised with the international community, as symbolic funerals were held by families of locals still missing after last week's flash floods.
Persistent rain, unstable cliffs and the fast-flowing river in the narrow mountain gorge have hampered rescue operations. Authorities said risks from monitored upstream lakes had eased, although landslides remained a concern.
The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, leaving a trail of destruction and thousands of people missing.
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