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An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 struck Tibet on Friday, a statement by the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 40 km. In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.4, On: 06/02/2026 07:19:41 IST, Lat: 33.23 N, Long: 83.31 E, Depth: 40 Km, Location: Tibet." https://x.com/NCS_Earthquake/status/2019592417238983029?s=20 Earlier in the day, another earthquake of magnitude 4.5 struck the region at a shallow depth of 20 km, making it susceptible to aftershocks. In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.5, On: 06/02/2026 02:30:30 IST, Lat: 33.27 N, Long: 83.39 E, Depth: 25 Km, Location: Tibet." https://x.com/NCS_Earthquake/status/2019519915934511562?s=20 Shallow earthquakes are generally more dangerous than deep earthquakes. This is because the seismic waves from shallow earthquakes travel shorter distances to the surface, resulting in stronger ground shaking, greater structural damage, and higher casualties. The Tibetan Plateau is characterised by seismic activity due to tectonic plate collisions. Tibet and Nepal lie along a major geological fault line where the Indian tectonic plate converges with the Eurasian plate, resulting in frequent earthquakes. The region is seismically active due to tectonic uplift that can become sufficiently strong to alter the elevations of the Himalayan peaks. The Tibetan Plateau attains its high elevation due to crustal thickening caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates, which created the Himalayas. Faulting within the plateau is associated with strike-slip and normal mechanisms. The plateau extends east-west, as evidenced by north-south-striking grabens, strike-slip faulting, and GPS data. In the northern region, strike-slip faulting is the dominant tectonic style, 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 identified in southern Tibet in 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 magnitude; in 2008, five normal-faulting earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.9 to 7.1 occurred across the plateau. (ANI)
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