Last night, a strong 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Baqing County, Nangqu City, Xizang. At least 16 people were killed and 76 were injured, with over 10,000 people urgently relocated.
Experts from the China Earthquake Network Center noted that the earthquake's epicenter was just 10 kilometers deep, which is a rare extensional rupture of the tectonic structure, triggered by tectonic compression. The quake struck at 10:33 PM on October 22. The epicenter is located in the central area of the Kangding Block within the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, approximately 2 kilometers from the 'Baqing-Lieuqizhi Fault'.
Background: Tectonic compression caused extensional stress, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rises and deforms under the squeezing force. Experts pointed out that the central area of the Wenchuan earthquake, located in the Kangding Block, typically experiences north-south compression, but in this highland area, the east-west stretching force has formed the geological context of this earthquake. Tectonic analysis shows that this 7.0-magnitude earthquake was a normal fault extensional rupture, highly consistent with the geological structure of the region.