(TibetanReview.net, May20, 2015) – A total of 242 temples were significantly damaged and 2,566 monks and nuns displaced in Shigatse (Chinese: Xigaze) Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region as a result of the devastating Apr 25 earthquake in Nepal and the subsequent series of aftershocks, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency May 19. The report cited the regional religious affairs bureau as saying the affected monks and nuns had been relocated to temporary settlements.
At the Qoigar Temple, 20 Buddha statues were damaged and three gold-plated images buried under rubble, the report cited Abbot Jamba Ongbo as saying. He has added that the monks’ dormitories were completely toppled and the temple’s prayer assembly hall badly damaged.
The report gave no further details. Previous official Chinese media reports had said a total of 82 temples were damaged while one had collapsed.
The 7.9-magnitude earthquake and the and ensuing aftershocks have left nearly 9,000 people dead and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses in Nepal.
In Tibet a total of 27 people were reported to have died, with four missing and 797 injured. The Xinhua report said the quake had affected nearly 300,000 people, displacing more than 52,000, in the region. Nyalam, including its border town of Dram, and Kyirong were the most severely hit counties of Tibet.