A strong earthquake occurred in China’s Tibet region on Thursday evening. Its magnitude was measured at 7. At least 16 people were killed in the earthquake, while 54 people were injured. Because of this, hundreds of houses collapsed in the city of Nagchu in northern Tibet. Chinese state media has given this information citing local officials. At least 339 houses and 20 animal sheds collapsed due to the earthquake, according to the Nagchu city media office. Relief and rescue work is going on in this area. Rescue teams are busy rescuing people trapped under the debris and helping the affected families.

After the earthquake, more than 1,600 people from the local county have been deployed in relief and rescue operations. 1,000 temporary houses and about 3,000 tents have been sent to the affected people. Besides this, folding beds, torches and winter clothes have also been delivered. According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, communication services were down in some parts of the area. As a precautionary measure, local railway authorities have taken emergency measures to stop trains passing through the affected area.

More than a dozen people were killed when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck China’s Tibet on Thursday evening, according to local officials. Security cameras captured crowds running out of buildings as the tremors began.

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 22, 2026

Road closed due to falling rocks, fear of snowfall

There have also been incidents of rocks falling from mountains due to earthquakes. Due to which a part of National Highway-317 has been closed. Only emergency services, relief and rescue teams and government aid vehicles are allowed on this road. Debris removal from the road is underway. According to Xinhua, the earthquake-affected area may experience intermittent snowfall for the next three days. Due to which there is fear of increasing difficulty in relief and rescue operations.

Biggest earthquake in five years

According to China’s state-run TV channel CCTV, this is the largest earthquake in the region in the last five years. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 10:33 pm local time. Its epicenter was 191 km east-northeast of Nagchu. The area is high altitude and sparsely populated. The earthquake struck 18 km below the ground. Nagchu is located more than 300 km north of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.