Magnitude-7 earthquake strikes Tibet’s Nagqu region, killing at least 16 and destroying hundreds of homes

A magnitude-7 earthquake struck the Nagqu region of Tibet on Thursday night. At least 16 people were killed. Hundreds of homes were destroyed in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area where rescue teams are battling rockfall, aftershocks, and incoming snow to reach the affected communities.

At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed, according to the Nagqu media office, which cited city government officials. The number of injured remains disputed. Chinese state media reported 65 people hurt, including 11 with severe injuries, while the Guardian cited a figure of 54. Local media said more than 12,400 people had been relocated following the earthquake. Videos posted on social media showed villagers running into streets as buildings shook in the dark, though these have not been independently verified.

The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 10.33pm local time on Thursday, putting its depth at 11 miles, with the epicentre 119 miles east-north-east of Nagqu in a sparsely populated area of northern Tibet. Nagqu itself sits more than 185 miles north of Lhasa, the regional capital. Baqên County, identified by Xinhua as the centre of the quake, lies 400km north-east of Lhasa. The USGS recorded at least seven aftershocks. Magnitudes ranged between 4.3 and 5.2, all at a depth of six miles. CCTV footage showed workers running out of restaurants and objects falling off shelves at supermarkets when the quake struck. By Friday morning, more than 400 aftershocks had been registered since the quake, according to Chinese state media, with the largest measured at magnitude 5.2. CCTV described it as the biggest quake in the region in the past five years.

Rescue and relief mobilised

President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in the rescue operation and medical relief work. Premier Li Qiang called for “urgent efforts” to organise rescue operations, medical treatment, and the relocation of affected residents, noting that the earthquake-hit area sits at an altitude of around 4,800m. The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a working group. The Chinese government allocated 50 million yuan for disaster relief in Tibet. More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed to help rescue efforts, alongside more than 300 police officers and almost 350 fire and rescue personnel sent to the affected areas. Supplies flowing into the region included 1,000 prefabricated housing units, about 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches, and winter clothing. The Chinese military deployed drones to help survey the area. CCTV footage showed rescue workers clambering through damaged buildings, some with collapsed roofs.

Access hampered by terrain and weather

Rockfall forced roads in the region to close, complicating rescue access to high-altitude areas. A section of national highway 317 was shut to all but emergency, rescue, and official support vehicles as crews worked to clear debris, according to Xinhua. The news agency also reported that communication in some areas hit by the quake was down. Electricity was cut off. Power was partially restored by Friday morning. Local railway authorities took emergency actions to stop trains passing through the region. Intermittent snow was expected over the next three days, adding to the challenges facing crews working at an altitude of around 4,800m, as Premier Li Qiang noted.

Nagqu resident Yixi Cuomu told Tibet Daily she was asleep when her house began shaking violently, and she fled barefoot, her “legs trembling uncontrollably.” Another eyewitness told local media the shaking was so violent “that in that moment I felt as if several hundred yaks were running past us.”

A region under repeated strain

The quake is the latest disaster to strike a seismically volatile region. In January 2025, a powerful earthquake killed at least 126 people in Tibet — the Guardian identified the location as rural Tingri county, while the BBC referred to the Shigatse region. In December 2023, a quake in remote Gansu province killed more than 120 people according to the BBC, or at least 134 according to the Guardian. That made it China’s deadliest quake since 2014, when more than 600 died in Yunnan province. In August, floods and landslides triggered by a glacier collapse on the Tibet-Nepal border killed at least 1,400 people, with hundreds still reported missing. Foreign media access to Tibet is restricted. Information is tightly controlled by Chinese authorities, who took the region under their control in the 1950s. Tibet remains one of the poorest regions in China, and many Tibetans reject Beijing-imposed controls on their culture and religion.