Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake in Tibet Kills at Least 16 People
Emergency teams deployed shelter and medical aid to high-altitude mountain communities after hundreds of collapsed buildings left families displaced in falling temperatures.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Baqen County near the city of Nagqu in Tibet on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The tremor hit at 10:33 p.m. local time, according to The Guardian and the Associated Press.
At least 16 people died across the affected region, The Guardian and CBS News reported. Reports on the number of injured differed among media outlets.
The Guardian reported 54 people injured. CBS News noted 54 injured with 11 people in serious condition, while The Times of India reported 46 injured. Earlier state media tallies carried by the Associated Press recorded 32 people injured.
At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed, according to the Nagqu media office and municipal government officials. The earthquake also collapsed hundreds of buildings, damaged roads, and knocked out local communications.
Falling rocks forced authorities to close a section of National Highway 317 to non-emergency traffic. Local railway authorities also suspended train traffic passing through the impacted areas.
The United States Geological Survey placed the epicenter 191 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu at a depth of 18 kilometers. The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded the depth at 10 kilometers. Nagqu sits at high altitude, more than 300 kilometers north of Lhasa.
The USGS recorded at least seven aftershocks ranging between magnitude 4.3 and 5.2 at depths of 10 kilometers. The China Earthquake Administration activated a Level II emergency response, the second-highest disaster tier in the country.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all-out search and rescue efforts and medical relief operations. He also called for the rapid resettlement of displaced residents. China Central Television stated that this was the strongest earthquake to strike the Himalayan region in five years.
Earthquakes occur frequently in southwestern China and the Tibetan Plateau due to collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. In January 2025, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck rural Tingri County in Tibet, leaving at least 126 people dead. A quake in Jishishan County in Gansu province killed at least 134 people in December 2023.
More than 1,600 local rescue personnel, 350 regional fire corps workers, and over 300 police officers deployed to search damaged structures. Crews distributed 1,000 prefabricated housing units, about 3,000 tents, folding beds, winter clothing, and flashlights as mountain temperatures drop.
Emergency crews and engineers are continuing damage assessments on rural infrastructure, power grids, and telecommunication lines.
