At least eight Buddhist monasteries and nunneries in southern Tibet have been severely damaged by the recent 7.1-magnitude earthquake, sources in the region told Radio Free Asia. The Jan. 7 quake that truck Tibet’s Dingri and Lhatse counties left 126 people dead, Chinese state media says — although Tibetan sources believe the toll to be higher — and damaged thousands of buildings.
All told, an estimated 40 monasteries and places of worship — some of them more than 500 years old — suffered varying degrees of damage, the sources said. They include the Dzekar Choede, Tsonga, Tsogo, Gonta-phuk, Choelung, Dhakphuk, Tashi Zomrung and Choeling monasteries.