7.0 earthquake kills 16 in Tibet's Nagqu region

What happened

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Thursday evening at 10:33 PM local time, with its epicenter in Maru township of Baqen County in Nagqu, according to state media. The quake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in a high-altitude, sparsely populated mountainous area about 190 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu and 390 kilometers northeast of the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

At least 16 people were killed and 32 injured, with 11 of the injured in serious condition, according to Xinhua News Agency citing local emergency authorities. More than 300 houses collapsed in the affected region, with the extent of damage still being assessed. Rescue and relief operations began immediately, with over 1,600 personnel deployed from local counties, plus fire and rescue teams mobilized from across the region.

China's earthquake administration activated a level-II emergency response, its second-highest tier. Supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents and folding beds, flashlights and winter clothing were sent to the region. Local infrastructure including power and telecommunications services were disrupted in the county seat.

The earthquake is the strongest to hit mainland China since January 2024. Tibet's high-elevation terrain, lying at the collision zone between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, makes it seismically active. In January 2025, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in nearby Tingri County killed at least 126 people.