Magnitude-7 earthquake kills at least 16 in Tibet’s Nagqu region

A magnitude-7 earthquake struck Tibet’s Nagqu region on Thursday night, killing at least 16 people and destroying hundreds of homes in a remote, high-altitude area where rescue teams are battling rockfalls, snow forecasts, and thin air.

At least 339 homes collapsed in the affected region, along with 20 livestock sheds, according to the Nagqu media office, citing city government officials. The injured toll is disputed: Chinese state media reported 65 people injured, including 11 with severe injuries, while official media cited by the Guardian put the figure at 54. More than 12,400 people have been relocated after the earthquake, according to local media. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, and all figures remain preliminary.

Quake struck at high altitude near Nagqu

The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 10.33pm local time on Thursday, with its epicentre 191km east-northeast of Nagqu in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet. The USGS put the earthquake’s depth at 18km. Xinhua, citing the local emergency management bureau, identified Baqên County as the centre of the quake. Baqên County is 400km northeast of Lhasa, the regional capital, while Nagqu itself sits more than 300km north of Lhasa. Premier Li Qiang noted that the earthquake-hit area is at a high altitude of approximately 4,800 metres and is prone to aftershocks. CCTV reported that it was the biggest quake in the region in the past five years.

Hundreds of aftershocks and blocked roads hamper rescue

Chinese state media reported that more than 400 aftershocks have been registered since the quake occurred. The USGS recorded at least seven aftershocks near the epicentre, ranging in magnitude between 4.3 and 5.2, all at a depth of 10km. The largest aftershock measured magnitude 5.2. Rockfalls forced the closure of a section of national highway 317, allowing only emergency, rescue, and official support vehicles through as crews worked to clear debris. Communication and electricity were disrupted in some affected areas, according to Xinhua. Local railway authorities took emergency actions to halt trains passing through the region. Intermittent snow is expected over the next three days, adding to the challenges facing rescue teams operating in subzero conditions.

Massive rescue and relief deployment

More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed for rescue efforts, according to the Nagqu media office. More than 300 police officers were dispatched for relief work, and the regional fire and rescue corps mobilised almost 350 personnel to the affected areas, Xinhua reported. The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a working group to guide rescue and disaster relief operations. The Chinese military has drones to help survey the area. Supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents and folding beds, torches, and winter clothing arrived in the region. The Chinese government announced it was allocating 50 million yuan (£5.6m, $7.5m) for disaster relief efforts in Tibet.

Leadership demands all-out efforts

China’s top leadership called for urgent rescue efforts. Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts in rescue operations and medical relief work. Premier Li Qiang called for urgent efforts to organise rescue operations, medical treatment for the injured, and the relocation and resettlement of affected residents, noting the area is prone to aftershocks. One eyewitness described the violence of the shaking: “that in that moment I felt as if several hundred yaks were running past us.”

A region familiar with disaster

The quake adds to a long history of seismic tragedy in China. In January 2025, an earthquake in Tibet’s rural Tingri county killed at least 126 people. In December 2023, a quake in remote Gansu province killed more than 120 people, according to the BBC, while the Guardian reported at least 134 killed — making it China’s deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people died in Yunnan province. A huge tremor in Sichuan province in 2008 left approximately 90,000 people dead or missing, including about 5,000 schoolchildren. Less than two months ago, Tibet and Nepal were devastated by floods and landslides unleashed by a glacier collapse, killing at least 1,400 people. Tibet is one of the most tightly controlled regions in China, with foreign media restricted and information heavily censored, making Chinese state media the primary source for updates when such disasters occur.