Magnitude-7 earthquake hits Tibet, killing at least 16 destroying hundreds homes

A magnitude-7 earthquake struck a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet late on Thursday, killing at least 16 people, injuring 54 and destroying hundreds of homes in and around Nagqu. Local officials said 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed; rescuers searched through ruined buildings and more than 1,600 local personnel, police, fire and medical teams were deployed. Emergency aid sent into the region includes 1,000 prefabricated housing units, about 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches and winter clothing. Rockfalls forced closure of a section of national highway 317, communications were down in some areas, and train services through the region were suspended as crews cleared debris while intermittent snow complicated relief work.

The US Geological Survey recorded the tremor at magnitude 7.0, occurring at 10:33pm local time with an epicentre roughly 191km east‑north‑east of Nagqu and a depth of about 11 miles; at least seven aftershocks of magnitude 4.3-5.2 followed. China’s president called for an all‑out rescue and medical response. Restrictions on international access to the Tibetan side have limited outside reporting, obscuring the full scale of damage. The quake is the region’s strongest in five years and follows a string of deadly earthquakes in China, highlighting Tibet’s seismic activity and the logistical and political challenges of delivering relief in its remote, high‑altitude terrain.