A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people and injuring 65 others.
The quake hit at 10:33 p.m. local time, with its epicenter 191 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded the depth at 10 kilometers. At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed in the tremor, the Nagqu media office said.
Among the injured, 11 were in serious condition, while 21 sustained minor injuries, local officials reported. Rescue teams from police and fire departments erected tents to shelter displaced residents. The earthquake was the strongest in the region in five years, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts in rescue and medical relief operations, state media reported. More than 1,600 people were deployed for search and rescue, with emergency supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, 3,000 tents, and winter clothing delivered to the area.
The USGS recorded at least seven aftershocks ranging from magnitudes 4.3 to 5.2. Rockfalls triggered by the earthquake forced authorities to close a section of National Highway 317, while train services through the affected area were halted as a precaution. Intermittent snow is forecast over the next three days, complicating rescue efforts.
Nagqu lies more than 300 kilometers north of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. The region, prone to seismic activity due to its geological location, last experienced a comparable earthquake in 2010, when a magnitude 7.1 quake in neighboring Qinghai province killed at least 2,698 people.
