Tibet Quake Collapses 339 Homes in Nagqu

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck northern Tibet on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people and injuring 46 others. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the event at 10:33 p.m. local time. The epicenter was located 191 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu, at a depth of 18 kilometers.

Officials in Nagqu, a city situated more than 300 kilometers north of Lhasa, reported that 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed. Among the 46 injured, 11 were in serious condition while 35 sustained minor injuries. Search and rescue operations continued in the days following the initial tremor.

Local county authorities dispatched more than 1,600 personnel to the affected area. Relief efforts included the delivery of 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents and folding beds, flashlights, and winter clothing. These supplies were distributed to residents who lost their primary housing.

Xinhua News Agency reported that communication networks were down in parts of the region on Friday. Local railway authorities halted train traffic through the affected zone as a precaution. A section of National Highway 317 was closed after the quake triggered rockfalls. Emergency, rescue, and official support vehicles remained the only traffic permitted while crews cleared debris from the roadway.

China's national broadcaster CCTV identified this as the largest earthquake in the region in the past five years. Intermittent snow is expected to fall across the quake zone over the next three days, potentially complicating the ongoing recovery work.