The key facts
- Magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tibet: at least 16 dead, 32 injured, 11 in serious condition
- At least 339 residential houses and 20 livestock buildings destroyed
- The strongest earthquake in the region in five years and the most powerful in China since January 2024
Casualties and destruction
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck southwest China, in Tibet, overnight Thursday. According to Chinese state media, at least 16 people were killed and another 32 injured, 11 of whom are in serious condition — these figures are provided by the local press office. According to the Xinhua news agency, hundreds of houses collapsed in the remote Himalayan area: according to local authorities, at least 339 residential buildings and 20 livestock structures were destroyed. Power and communication lines were also disrupted. Rescue operations are ongoing, and authorities are assessing the scale of the damage.
Epicenter and characteristics
According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicenter is located approximately 190 km northeast of the city of Nagqu, which lies about 300 km north of the Tibetan capital Lhasa. The mountainous area is sparsely populated. The quake's focus was shallow — 10 km deep; shallow earthquakes (up to 70 km) are considered more destructive. CCTV reported that this is the strongest earthquake in the region in the past five years and the most powerful in China since January 2024.
Context of seismic activity
Earthquakes are a relatively frequent occurrence in China. In January 2025, an earthquake in the Everest area in the Tibetan county of Tingri killed at least 126 people. In 2010, tremors of magnitude 7.1 in Qinghai province, which borders Tibet, killed at least 2,698 people.
