Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake in Gansu Province, China.

The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded a Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km beneath Longxi County in southern Gansu Province, slightly before 5.50 am local time on Saturday 27 September 2025 (slightly before 9.50 pm on Friday 26 September, GMT). The Earthquake was felt across southeastern Gansu. Seventeen houses were destroyed by the event, with 4382 damaged, eleven people injured and 7812 in need of at least temporary rehousing. 

Emergency workers clearing debris following a Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake in Gansu Province, China, on Saturday 27 September 2025. Xinhau.

Much of western China and neighbouring areas of Central Asia and the Himalayas, are prone to Earthquakes caused by the impact of the Indian Plate into Eurasia from the south. The Indian Plate is moving northwards at a rate of 5 cm per year, causing it to impact into Eurasia, which is also moving northward, but only at a rate of 2 cm per year. When two tectonic plates collide in this way and one or both are oceanic then one will be subducted beneath the other (if one of the plates is continental then the other will be subducted), but if both plates are continental then subduction will not fully occur, but instead the plates will crumple, leading to folding and uplift (and quite a lot of Earthquakes). The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates has lead to the formation of the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of southwest China, Central Asia and the Hindu Kush.

Tectonic map of Asia, showing relationships between the India–Asia collision, escape of Indonesian and South China blocks seaward, and extension from Siberia to the Pacific margin. (Note also the opening of back-arc basins including the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea, and extension in the Bohai Basin and eastern part of the NCC.) The North China Craton is also strongly influenced by Pacific and palaeo-Pacific subduction, perhaps also inducing extension in the eastern NCC. The palaeo Pacific and Pacific subduction zones developed in the Mesozoic, and also contributed to the hydration of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the NCC. Kusky et al. (2007).

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Magnitude 6.8 earthquake in southern Tibet kills at least 126 people.

The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded a Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km beneath Tingri County in southern Tibet, close to Mount Everest and the border with Tibet at about 9.05 am local time on Tuesday 7 January 2025 (about 1.05 am, GMT). The Earthquake was felt across southern Tibet, eastern Nepal, western Bhutan, northeastern India and northern Bangladesh. More than 150 aftershocks have been recorded since the original event.

The approximate location of the 7 January 2025 Tibet Earthquake. USGS.

At the time of writing rescue workers have reported 126 deaths and 188 people injured in Tibet and another five injuries in Nepal. However, the number of casualties is likely to rise significantly, as the population in the area around the epicentre of the Earthquake largely live in small, remote villages, largely cut off from the outside world, and which are subsequently difficult for rescue workers to reach. To make matters worse, daytime temperatures in the area average -8°C at this time of year, falling to -18°C at night. More than a thousand homes have been damaged or destroyed in areas that rescue workers have managed to reach, so is likely that in other areas people may have lost  their homes or be trapped beneath debris, vulnerable to the cold.

Rescue workers in Tingri County, Tibet, following a Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake on Tuesday 7 January 2024. Xinhua/AP.

Earthquake activity in the area is caused by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, due to the impact of India into Eurasia to the south. he Indian Plate is moving northwards at a rate of 5 cm per year, causing it to impact into Eurasia, which is also moving northward, but only at a rate of 2 cm per year. The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates has led to the formation of the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of southwest China, Central Asia and the Hindu Kush.

Block diagram showing how the impact of the Indian Plate into Eurasia is causing uplift on the Tibetan Plateau. Jayne Doucette/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Much of Tibet and neighbouring areas of Central Asia and the Himalayas, are prone to Earthquakes caused by the impact of the Indian Plate into Eurasia from the south. When two tectonic plates collide in this way and one or both are oceanic then one will be subducted beneath the other (if one of the plates is continental then the other will be subducted), but if both plates are continental then subduction will not fully occur, but instead the plates will crumple, leading to folding and uplift (and quite a lot of Earthquakes). The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates has lead to the formation of the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of southwest China, Central Asia and the Hindu Kush.

The movement of India into Eurasia over the last 71 million years. USGS.

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Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake in Gansu Province, China, results in at least 126 deaths.

The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a depth of about 10 km, beneath Jishishan County in Gansu Province, slightly before midnight local time (slightly before 4.00 pm GMT) on Monday 18 December 2023. One hundred and thirteen people have been reported dead in Gansu Province following this event, with thirteen fatalities in neighbouring Qinghai Province. Another 597 people have been reported injured in the two provinces, and 20 more missing. Around 155 000 homes have been damaged, with widespread loss of power in the region, which making conditions extremely difficult in an area where night-time temperatures regularly fall below -10°C at this time of year.

Damage to buildings in Jishishan County, Gansu, following a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake on Monday 18 December 2023. AFP/Getty Images.

Much of western China and neighbouring areas of Central Asia and the Himalayas, are prone to Earthquakes caused by the impact of the Indian Plate into Eurasia from the south. The Indian Plate is moving northwards at a rate of 5 cm per year, causing it to impact into Eurasia, which is also moving northward, but only at a rate of 2 cm per year. When two tectonic plates collide in this way and one or both are oceanic then one will be subducted beneath the other (if one of the plates is continental then the other will be subducted), but if both plates are continental then subduction will not fully occur, but instead the plates will crumple, leading to folding and uplift (and quite a lot of Earthquakes). The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates has lead to the formation of the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of southwest China, Central Asia and the Hindu Kush.

Tectonic map of Asia, showing relationships between the India–Asia collision, escape of Indonesian and South China blocks seaward, and extension from Siberia to the Pacific margin. (Note also the opening of back-arc basins including the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea, and extension in the Bohai Basin and eastern part of the NCC.) The North China Craton is also strongly influenced by Pacific and palaeo-Pacific subduction, perhaps also inducing extension in the eastern NCC. The palaeo Pacific and Pacific subduction zones developed in the Mesozoic, and also contributed to the hydration of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the NCC. Kusky et al. (2007).

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Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake to the northeast of Herat, Afghanistan.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake at a depth of 9 km, roughly 28 km to the northeast of the city of Herat in northeast Afghanistan, slightly after 5.10 am local time (slightly after 12. 40 am GMT) on Wednesday 11 October 2023. The event is reported to have led to at least one death and 150 injuries, and occurred only four days after another Earthquake of similar Magnitude to the northeast of Herat, which is now known to have killed over 2000 people, and which has left hospital supplies in the region dangerously low. Building collapses are a particular danger in Afghanistan as many buildings are made of mud bricks, which can liquify in Earthquakes, forming a fine dust which asphyxiates people trapped beneath fallen structures.

The approximate location of the 11 October 2023 Herat Earthquake. USGS.

The boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates runs close to northern Afghanistan. The Indian Plate is moving northward relative to the Eurasian Plate, causing folding and uplift along this boundary, which has led to the formation of the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the other mountain ranges of Central Asia., and which makes the nations in this boundary zone prone to Earthquakes.

Plate boundaries and movements beneath southern Pakistan, Iran and the Arabian Sea. University of Southampton.

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Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake off the northeast coast of Azerbaijan.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake at a depth of 59.7 km off the northeast coast of Azerbaijan slightly after midnight local time on Tuesday 4 July 2023 (slightly 8.00 pm on Monday 4 July GMT). There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it along the northeastern part of the coast of Azerbaijan, and adjacent parts of the Caspian Sea coast of Russia.

The approximate location of the 4 July 2023 Azerbaijan Earthquake. USGS.

Earthquakes are a common problem in Azerbaijan, which is located on the southern part of the Eurasian Plate, close to the boundary with the Arabian and Anatolian Plates. The Arabian Plate is being pushed northwards by the movement of the African Plate further to the south, pushing the Anatolian Plate to the west, and creating stress in the rocks around the Caspian Sea Basin, and creating the uplift that has led to the formation of the Caucasus Mountains.

The movement of the Arabian Plate into the Eurasian Plate from the south. El-Isa & Franke (2002).

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Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake in the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake at a depth of 105.1 km beneath the Tanimbar Island region in the southern Lesser Sunda Islands to the east of Timor, slightly before 0.45 am local time on Tuesday 10 January 2023 (about 7.45 pm on Monday 9 January GMT). Quakes at this depth are seldom dangerous, but are often felt over a wide area, and this one was reportedly felt across much of the Lesser Sunda Islands, as well as Malaku, West Papua, the Kei Islands, and northern Australia.

The approximate location of the 10 January 2023 Tanimbar Islands Earthquake (USGS).

The Lesser Sunda Islands are located on the northern part of the Timor Microplate. This is trapped between the converging Eurasian and Australian Plates, both of which are being subducted beneath it. In the south the Australian Plate is passing under the island of Timor, with material from the subducted plate melted by the friction and the heat of the Earth's interior rising through the Timor Plate to feed the volcanoes of the island. In the north the Eurasian Plate is being subducted in the same way, feeding the volcanoes there.

The subduction zones beneath the Timor Microplate. Hamson (2004).

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