At 8:03 pm IST on Thursday, the National Center for Seismology logged a 7‑Magnitude earthquake in Tibet. The epicenter lay 489 km north‑north‑west of Pandin, Arunachal Pradesh, and the shock plunged to a depth of 173 km. The tremor rattled communities across the high‑altitude plateau, triggering aftershocks that were felt for hours.
Just forty‑nine minutes later, at 8:42 pm IST, a second quake struck the same region. With a magnitude of 5, it was shallower, 15 km beneath the surface, and its epicenter sat 323 km NNW of Basar, Arunachal Pradesh. Residents reported a sudden jolt that left a few houses trembling.
In a separate event that same evening, a 5.2‑Magnitude quake rattled China near Pangin, Arunachal Pradesh, at 8:29 pm IST, 505 km NNW from the state capital and also 15 km deep. The National Center for Seismology confirmed the tremor, adding to the region’s seismic strain.
These twin shocks come only weeks after a devastating flash flood that swept the Nepal‑Tibet border in August. The deluge, which originated near the border, buried villages and destroyed infrastructure, claiming more than 1,400 lives across the high‑land corridor.
Local authorities have dispatched emergency teams to assess damage, while the Indian Ministry of Earthquake Monitoring has intensified monitoring protocols. Officials say the late‑night quakes did not trigger landslides, but they raise concerns about the area's tectonic stability ahead of the monsoon season.
National centers will continue to track seismic activity in the Himalayan belt, and international agencies are coordinating relief efforts for flood‑affected populations.