Magnitude-7 earthquake kills at least 16 in Tibet

A magnitude-7 earthquake has struck northern Tibet, killing at least 16 people, injuring 54 and destroying hundreds of homes, according to Chinese state media.

At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed in the area around the city of Nagqu, the local media office said, citing city officials. China's national broadcaster, CCTV, said it was the strongest earthquake in the region for five years.

A remote, high-altitude area

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 10.33pm local time on Thursday, with its epicentre 191km (119 miles) east-north-east of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude part of northern Tibet. It put the depth at 11 miles, and recorded at least seven aftershocks of magnitude 4.3 to 5.2.

Videos posted by CCTV showed workers running out of restaurants and goods falling from supermarket shelves as the quake hit. Rescue workers were filmed clambering through damaged buildings, some with collapsed roofs.

Rescue under way

More than 1,600 people from the local county were sent to help with the rescue, along with more than 300 police officers and almost 350 fire and rescue staff. Supplies sent to the area included 1,000 prefabricated homes, about 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches and winter clothing.

The state news agency Xinhua said communications were down in some areas and that trains through the region had been stopped. Rockfalls forced the closure of part of national highway 317 to all but emergency and rescue vehicles while crews cleared debris. Intermittent snow is forecast in the area over the next three days, adding to the difficulties for people who have lost their homes.

China's president, Xi Jinping, called for an all-out effort in the rescue and in medical relief.

An earthquake-prone region

Nagqu is more than 185 miles north of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. Earthquakes are relatively common in China, and Tibet, where the Indian and Eurasian plates collide, is particularly active. In January 2025, at least 126 people were killed in an earthquake in Tingri county in Tibet. In December 2023, a quake in Gansu province in north-west China killed at least 134 people, the country's deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people died in Yunnan province.

In August, severe floods hit the border between Tibet and Nepal. China's tight control of information prevented international journalists from visiting the affected areas on the Tibetan side, making it hard to judge the scale of the damage.

Tibet came under Chinese control in the 1950s, and its mainly ethnic Tibetan population has had a tense relationship with the authorities in Beijing ever since. It is one of the poorest regions of China, and many Tibetans reject the controls Beijing places on their culture and religion.

The UK government's travel advice warns that Tibet is a seismically active area and that British visitors need a special permit to enter the region.