DOMINANT ANGLE
Bogotá analyzes the Tibet earthquake through its geology and altitude: a magnitude 7 shock at nearly 4,800 meters, in a sparsely populated area, set against the seismic history of the Tibetan plateau.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Earthquake of magnitude 7 at 22:33 local time Thursday, at a depth of 10 km, in northern Tibet, about 400 km from Lhasa according to the CENC (La República).
- 02
The USGS records 29 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7.0 on the Tibetan plateau since 1900; the 1950 earthquake (magnitude 8.6) killed more than 4,000 people (La República).
- 03
According to Xinhua, houses collapsed, electricity and telecommunications were disrupted in Baqen, and a magnitude 4.3 earthquake followed in Zadoi (El Colombiano).
ANALYSIS
Bogotá, October 23, 2026. The Colombian press treats the Tibet earthquake first as a seismological event, based on Xinhua dispatches, measurements from the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) and those from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The Republic indicates that a magnitude 7 earthquake shook Chinese Tibet at 22:33 local time, Thursday. The epicenter, located in a district of Nagqu, in northern Tibet, was at a depth of 10 km and about 400 km from Lhasa. The newspaper specifies that the average altitude within a 5 km radius around the epicenter reaches about 4,864 meters, according to the CENC, and that the area is "escasamente poblada", meaning very sparsely populated. It adds that this would be the strongest magnitude earthquake reported in China since January 2024.
The daily puts the earthquake into historical perspective. The USGS records 29 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7.0 on the Tibetan Plateau and its margins since 1900. The most powerful, in 1950, reached 8.6 and caused more than 4,000 deaths. The text also notes that the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management has activated the national emergency response level IV and sent a working team to the site.
El Colombiano places more emphasis on local damage. Citing Xinhua, it reports that victims have been reported, but no precise toll had been communicated. The USGS locates the epicenter about 190 km east-northeast of Nagqu and 390 km northeast of Lhasa. The China Earthquake Administration has triggered a level II emergency response. The epicenter is located in the Maru township, Baqen district. The vice-governor of the township, Lhawang Dagpo, stated that the shock was clearly felt and had caused cracks in some buildings.
The newspaper also reports house collapses, as well as disruptions to electricity and telecommunications in the district capital. It finally mentions a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in Zadoi, in Qinghai Province, at 23:12, in a district bordering Baqen, with cracks in homes.
The two newspapers rely on Chinese and American sources. They report no independent field data. At the time of their publication, human tolls are absent, which leaves the Colombian reading focused on the geophysical scope and the announced Chinese institutional response.
SOURCES (2)
- El ColombianoMEDIUM
- La Republica COMEDIUM
