Earthquake of magnitude 4.2 rocks Tibet, no casualties; 2nd in a week

An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Tibet on Tuesday, as per a statement by the National Center for Seismology. As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 5km, making it susceptible to aftershocks.

"EQ of M: 4.2, On: 04/03/2025 14:44:28 IST, Lat: 28.28 N, Long: 87.56 E, Depth: 5 Km, Location: Tibet," NCS stated.

Shallow earthquakes like this one are more dangerous than deeper ones due to their greater energy release closer to the Earth's surface, causing stronger ground shaking and increased damage to structures and casualties, compared to deeper earthquakes which lose energy as they travel to the surface.

Earlier on February 27, another earthquake of 4.1 magnitude jolted Tibet, NCS stated.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 70km.

"EQ of M: 4.1, On: 27/02/2025 14:48:14 IST, Lat: 28.76 N, Long: 96.86 E, Depth: 70 Km, Location: Tibet," NCS stated.

A day earlier, an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude on the Richter Scale struck Tibet, as per the statement by the National Center for Seismology (NCS).

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10km, making it susceptible to potential aftershocks.

In a post on X, the NCS shared the details and said, "EQ of M: 4.2, On: 25/02/2025 21:45:00 IST, Lat: 28.21 N, Long: 87.08 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Tibet."

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. The region is seismically active, causing tectonic uplifts that can grow strong enough to change the heights of the Himalayas' peaks, as per Al Jazeera.

"Education about earthquakes and earthquake-resilient buildings combined with funding for retrofits and resilient structures can help protect people and buildings when strong earthquakes occur," Marianne Karplus, a seismologist and geophysicist, told Al Jazeera earlier.

"The earth system is very complex, and we cannot predict earthquakes. However, we can conduct scientific studies to better understand what causes earthquakes in Tibet and to better understand the shaking and impacts resulting from earthquakes," Karplus, who is a professor of geological sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, told Al Jazeera.