Chinese state media reported at least 16 deaths and 54 injuries in an update published on Friday, 23 October, up from 32 injured in earlier reports.
The Nagqu municipal press office said at least 339 homes collapsed, and state media reported 20 stables destroyed. Of the earlier 32 injured, 11 were in serious condition.
State media reported 1,000 prefabricated houses, about 3,000 tents and more than 1,600 mobilised people. More than 300 police and nearly 350 firefighters and rescuers were deployed with 83 vehicles.
The China Earthquake Networks Center measured 7.0 at 10 kilometres depth, GFZ gave 7 at 10 kilometres, and India's National Center for Seismology measured 7.0 at 173 kilometres.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Tibet on Thursday, 22 October 2026, at 22:33 local time. The US Geological Survey placed the epicentre about 191 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu, a city in the north of the autonomous region, and gave a focal depth of 18 kilometres. Chinese seismologists located the epicentre in Baqing county at 32.40 degrees north and 93.79 degrees east, with a depth of 10 kilometres. The China Earthquake Networks Center first reported a magnitude of about 6.7 and revised it to 7.0 a few minutes later. Seven or more aftershocks of magnitude 4.3 to 5.2 followed, according to the USGS. Internet users reported strong shaking in Lhasa, Nyingchi and Chamdo, according to the Jiemian news site.
At least 16 people were killed. Chinese state media reported 54 injured in an update published on Friday, 23 October, up from 32 in earlier reports. At that earlier stage, the Nagqu municipal press office said 11 of the injured were in serious condition and 21 had light injuries. The same office said at least 339 homes collapsed in Nagqu, and state media reported that 20 stables were destroyed. CCTV footage showed rescuers moving between buildings with heavy structural damage and collapsed roofs.
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Rescue teams from the police and fire services have been setting up tents for people left homeless. State media reported that 1,000 prefabricated houses, about 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches and winter clothing were being moved into the area. More than 300 police officers and nearly 350 firefighters and rescuers have been deployed, along with 83 vehicles, and more than 1,600 people from the wider area have been mobilised. According to Xinhua, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for every possible effort on rescue operations and medical treatment. Authorities warned of difficult weather, with snowfall expected at intervals over the next three days.
Xinhua reported that communications were cut in some of the affected areas. Rail authorities suspended train services, and landslides closed a section of National Highway 317, where only emergency and support vehicles are allowed to pass.
The German GFZ centre, citing Reuters, also measured a magnitude of 7 and a depth of 10 kilometres. India's National Center for Seismology measured 7.0 but calculated a focal depth of 173 kilometres. Accounts differ on the USGS depth, with one source giving 10 kilometres and others 18 kilometres. The depth matters because shallow earthquakes are felt much more strongly at the surface.
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Baqing county had 56,200 residents in 2020 across nearly 9,800 square kilometres, which works out to fewer than six people per square kilometre, one of the most sparsely populated areas of China. The epicentre sits at an elevation of nearly 4,900 metres. Nagqu lies more than 300 kilometres north of Lhasa, and other accounts put the epicentre about 400 kilometres from the regional capital. CCTV said the quake was the strongest in the area in five years. Chinese state media also reported that a magnitude 7.1 earthquake near Dingri, close to the Nepal border, killed 126 people in January 2025. Tibet lies where the Indian tectonic plate presses against the Eurasian plate, one of the most seismically active zones on the planet.
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The quake struck late on Thursday, 22 October, at 22:33 local time, with its epicentre in Baqing county. Rescue work continues in Nagqu, where state media say 339 homes collapsed.
AI text based on reports by iefimerida.gr, Deutsche Welle, NEWS 24/7 and other publishers. Published .