1,600 Rescue Workers Deployed After 7.0 Quake Destroys 339 Homes
Winter gear and prefabricated shelters were rushed to Nagqu as communications failed and snow threatened the high-altitude region.
By Victoria Singh ·
Residents in the northern Tibetan city of Nagqu now face the threat of falling snow with the roofs over their heads compromised. A magnitude-7 earthquake struck the region at 10:33 p.m. local time on Thursday, shaking the ground hard enough to send goods tumbling from supermarket shelves and forcing workers to flee restaurants.
Chinese official media reported that at least 16 people died and 54 others were injured in the tremor. The Nagqu media office, citing city government officials, confirmed that 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed. CCTV labeled the event the most powerful quake in the area in five years. The US Geological Survey placed the epicenter 119 miles east-north-east of Nagqu at a depth of 11 miles, and it logged seven aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.3 to 5.2.
Rescue operations have mobilized a large workforce to address the damage. More than 1,600 people from the local county joined the effort. Xinhua reported that over 300 police officers and nearly 350 personnel from regional fire and rescue services were dispatched to the site. Supplies sent to the area included 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches, and winter clothing.
Infrastructure in the affected zones is struggling to hold up. Xinhua stated on Friday that communications were down in some areas. Local railway authorities halted trains passing through the region as a precaution. Rockfalls closed a section of national highway 317, restricting access to emergency and support vehicles while crews cleared debris. Interim snow is forecast for the next three days, adding urgency to the delivery of winter gear.
President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in rescue and medical relief. Nagqu sits more than 185 miles north of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. The region has experienced deadly tremors recently, including a quake in Tingri county in January 2025 that killed at least 126 people and one in Gansu province in December 2023 that claimed at least 134 lives.
Tibet remains a seismically active zone where earthquakes are relatively common. The area has been under Chinese control since the 1950s, and its population maintains a complex relationship with Beijing. It is one of China's poorer regions, and residents often face challenges regarding cultural and religious controls. A flood hit the Tibet-Nepal border in August, but strict information controls limited international media access to the Tibetan side of the damage.
Source: The Guardian
