Magnitude 7 Earthquake in Tibet Kills at Least 16 in Nagqu

A magnitude 7 earthquake in Tibet killed at least 16 people and injured 46 late Thursday, AP reported, citing official Chinese media. The US Geological Survey says the quake struck at 10:33 pm local time, 18 km deep, 191 km east-northeast of Nagqu, a high-altitude city in the region’s north.

Nagqu rescue operations began after at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed, the local media office said. Of the 46 injured, 11 are in critical condition. More than 1,600 people from the local county joined the search. Supplies including about 3,000 tents, 1,000 prefabricated housing units, folding beds, flashlights and winter clothing have reached the area.

Xinhua reported that communication was down in parts of the region and that railway authorities halted trains running through it. Rockfalls closed a section of National Highway 317 to everyone except emergency, rescue and official vehicles while crews cleared debris. CCTV called it the region’s biggest earthquake in five years.

Location shapes the response. Nagqu sits in sparsely populated terrain more than 300 km north of Lhasa, which may have limited the toll. The same remoteness, altitude, and cold make shelter urgent and delivery harder. Housing is the main damage the magnitude 7 earthquake in Tibet has caused so far. Down communications and a restricted road make Nagqu rescue operations harder to coordinate.

Intermittent snow is expected over the next three days, which could complicate Nagqu rescue operations and the reopening of National Highway 317. Debris clearing continues, and casualty figures may change as teams reach more homes. Anyone tracking the magnitude 7 earthquake in Tibet should watch Xinhua and local updates for revised numbers.