Seven people have died and 136 others have been injured in Tibet after the region was hit Sunday evening by a strong earthquake centered in the state of Sikkim in northern India, Xinhua quoted China's Ministry of Civil Affairs as saying today. As of Wednesday noon, the earthquake affected about 75,000 people living in 18 counties in the Xigaze and Shannan prefectures of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and resulted in the evacuation of 19,000 residents, according to statistics from the ministry. The quake slightly damaged about 13,000 houses, with another 4,500 destroyed or severely damaged. In Tibet's Yadong County, which borders Sikkim, traffic, power, water supplies and telecommunications services were disrupted shortly after the quake. However, one of the major roads connecting Yadong with Xigaze has resumed traffic and telecommunications services have been restored, as local authorities in Yadong have put an emergency power supply system into operation. The ministry has sent 5,000 tents, 20,000 cotton quilts and 20,000 articles of clothing to quake-hit areas to aid in disaster relief efforts. The ministry has also sent work teams to the region to direct disaster relief operations.
