Record Breaking Tibetan Earthquake Causes Devastation

   On January 6th, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the Tingri region in China’s Tibet and quakes were felt in Tibet’s Shigatse region which destroyed over 3,000 homes in the region. Search and rescue plans were executed surveying the damage, relocating all survivors, and assisting the injured. 

   The total casualty range is currently estimated at approximately 126 deaths and 188 injuries due to the earthquake. The main relief force’s focus has been shifted from search and rescue to assisting and relocating the tens of thousands of survivors afflicted by the earthquake. “Tents, quilts, stoves and other relief items were being delivered to people whose homes were uninhabitable or unsafe,” as cited by the Associated Press.

   As China has deployed more than a thousand relief workers to the impacted areas across the stricken region of Tibet, “More than 1,500 firefighters and rescue workers have been dispatched to the affected areas,” said USA Today. Over 400 people were rescued from the rubble from these efforts. The aftermath of this earthquake reveals the decimation of thousands of homes across Tibet.