Quake Kills 16 in Nagqu as Winter Snow Forecast for Rescue Zone

A magnitude-7 earthquake hit northern Tibet late Thursday night, killing at least 16 people and injuring 54.

The timeline: The US Geological Survey logged the tremor at 10:33 p.m. local time on Thursday, placing its epicentre 119 miles east-north-east of Nagqu at a depth of 11 miles. It recorded at least seven aftershocks of magnitude 4.3 to 5.2. CCTV broadcast footage of workers running from restaurants and goods falling from supermarket shelves. The Nagqu media office, citing city government officials, said 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed. China's national broadcaster called it the region's largest quake in five years. Xinhua reported Friday that communications were down in some affected areas and that local railway authorities halted trains passing through the region. Rockfalls closed a section of national highway 317 to all but emergency, rescue and official support vehicles while crews cleared debris. Intermittent snow was forecast for the next three days.

Rescue mobilisation followed within hours. More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed, over 300 police officers were sent for relief work, and regional fire and rescue services dispatched almost 350 personnel, according to Xinhua. Supplies shipped to the area included 1,000 prefabricated housing units, about 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches and winter clothing. Search and rescue work was continuing. President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in the rescue operation and medical relief work.

Nagqu sits more than 185 miles north of Lhasa in a high-altitude, sparsely populated stretch of northern Tibet. The region has a record of deadly seismic events. In January 2025, at least 126 people died in a quake in Tibet's Tingri county. In December 2023, a tremor in Gansu province killed at least 134 people, state media reported, making it China's deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people died in Yunnan.

Supplies, personnel and emergency orders are now staged around a zone where some communications are down, a section of highway 317 is closed, and snow is forecast for three days.