A powerful earthquake has struck the Himalayan region of Tibet in southwest China.

According to initial reports, the earthquake – of magnitude 6.8, also felt in neighboring Nepal shortly after 9 a.m. local time – caused the death of at least dozens of people and the collapse of many buildings. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude was 7.1.

Video footage broadcast by China's state television CCTV showed houses with cracked walls and collapsed roofs, with rocks scattered across the ground . Other CCTV footage showed vehicles buried under bricks and shoppers fleeing a supermarket as the quake knocked products off shelves.

Chinese President Xi Jinping “has ordered all-out rescue efforts to save lives and minimize casualties.”

(Online Union)

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