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China

China's Tibet and Indonesia's West Java hit by powerful earthquakes

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck in southwestern China's Tibet region, reportedly damaging many buildings and forcing the evacuation of around 2,000 people on Monday (August 25) night. According to the official Xinhua news agency, China's Earthquake Networks Center said that the quake shook Zhongba County in Xigaze Prefecture in Tibet. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Xinhua reported that an official said that after the quake, some buildings appeared to have been damaged in the county, which has around 13 townships. The official said that special personnel have been sent to the county to assess the situation and carry out disaster relief operations. Last week, at least three people were killed by a 5.9-magnitude quake which hit southwestern Yunnan province on Thursday (August 21) near China's border with Myanmar (Burma). Around 100 other people were injured, including 20 who were seriously hurt. The quake was centered in Yingjiang County in Yunnan. China is still recovering from a devastating 7.9-magnitude quake on May 12, which killed at least 70,000 people and left 5 million homeless in Sichuan province, located north of Yunnan. Thousands of aftershocks have hit the region since then. Elsewhere across the Asia-Pacific region on Tuesday (August 26), a strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off of Indonesia's West Java province, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damages. According to Reuters, Indonesia's meteorological agency put the epicenter of the quake at 78 miles (125 km) north of Ujung Kulon in West Java and at a depth of 27 miles (43 km), in the Sunda Strait that separates Java and Sumatra islands. However, the US Geological Survey put the earthquake at 5.8-magnitude. Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning after the quake struck, but it was lifted within 30 minutes, according to the Associated Press. The Indonesian archipelago straddles a series of active fault lines on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, causing seismic and volcanic activity.