BEIJING: A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 that killed more than 50 people in western China near Nepal on Tuesday was one of the country's deadliest in recent years.
Earthquakes in China happen most frequently on the Tibetan Plateau or its fringes. The seismically active area is where the India and Eurasia plates clash and cause uplifts that can be strong enough to change the heights of Himalayan peaks.
In May 2008, a 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province in the southwest killed nearly 90,000 people. The collapse of schools and other buildings led to a yearslong effort to rebuild using more quake-resistant materials.
Other deadly earthquakes have struck in Yunnan province to the south of Sichuan and in Qinghai and Gansu provinces.
Here's a list of major recent earthquakes:
May 2008: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake leaves nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead in Sichuan province.
April 2010: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake kills 2,698 people in Qinghai province.
April 2013: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake kills 196 people in Sichuan.
July 2013: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake kills 95 people in Gansu province.
Aug. 2014: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake kills 617 people in Yunnan province.
Sept. 2022: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake kills 93 people in Sichuan.
Dec. 2023: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake kills at least 126 people in Gansu and Qinghai provinces.