Mount Everest moved 3 cm due to earthquake

(Baonghean.vn)- AFP news agency quoted Chinese media on June 16 as saying that the world's highest mountain had moved 3 cm to the southwest due to the earthquake in Nepal that devastated the country in April.

Everest is the highest mountain in the world, Reuters photo.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake reversed the mountain’s gradual northeastward movement, the state-run China Daily reported, citing the State Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geographic Information. Before the quake, Everest had moved 40 centimeters to the northeast over the past decade at a rate of 4 centimeters per year, the source said.

The mountain also grew 3cm in the same period. The earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 people and devastated Everest base camp. The disaster immediately forced authorities in China and Nepal to cancel all climbing activities this year on the mountain, dubbed the 'roof of the world', which straddles the border between the two countries.

Also according to the China Daily, the 7.3 magnitude earthquake on May 12 in Nepal did not move Mount Everest.

Thu Giang

(According to AFP)