16 Dead as 7.0 Quake Hits Tibet
Magnitude 7.0 earthquake destroys 339 homes in Nagqu as 1,600 workers begin clearing rubble.
By Harper Laurent ·
Sixteen people died when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet on Thursday night, leaving 54 injured. The tremor, which hit at 10:33 pm local time, destroyed at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds in and around the regional city of Nagqu.
Chinese official media described the event as the largest quake in the region in five years. The US Geological Survey located the epicenter 119 miles east-north-east of Nagqu. The tremor occurred at a depth of 11 miles. The agency recorded at least seven aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.3 to 5.2 in the following hours.
CCTV released footage of the shaking ground. The videos show workers fleeing restaurants and goods falling from supermarket shelves. Rescuers were seen climbing through buildings with collapsed roofs. Search and rescue work remained under way as of Friday.
Local authorities mobilized more than 1,600 people from the county to assist with the rescue effort. Xinhua reported that over 300 police officers joined the relief work. The regional fire and rescue services dispatched almost 350 personnel. Supplies sent to the area included 1,000 prefabricated housing units, 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches, and winter clothing.
Communications remained down in some affected areas on Friday. Local railway authorities halted trains passing through the region. Rockfalls closed a section of national highway 317, restricting access to emergency and official support vehicles while crews cleared debris. Intermittent snow is forecast for the next three days.
Chinese president Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in the rescue operation and medical relief work. Nagqu lies more than 185 miles north of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. Earthquakes are common in the region. In January 2025, a quake in Tingri county killed at least 126 people. In December 2023, a quake in Gansu province killed at least 134 people.
Tibet is a seismically active region. It was brought under Chinese control in the 1950s. The region is one of China's poorest. In August, a disastrous flood hit the border of Tibet and Nepal. China's tight grip on information kept international media from visiting the affected areas on the Tibetan side, obscuring the scale of the damage.
