A magnitude-7 earthquake has struck China's Tibet region, killing at least 16 people and injuring 54 others, official media reported. The quake hit at 10:33pm local time on Thursday, with its epicentre located 191 kilometres east-northeast of the northern regional city of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet.

At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed as a result of the tremor. More than 12,400 people have been relocated, and rescue operations were continuing in the affected areas.

The US Geological Survey recorded the earthquake's depth at 18 kilometres and logged at least seven aftershocks with magnitudes between 4.3 and 5.2, all at a depth of 10 kilometres. Chinese state media reported that more than 400 aftershocks had been registered since the quake occurred. Shallow earthquakes are generally more damaging than deeper ones.

Rockfalls forced the closure of a section of national highway 317. Only emergency, rescue, and official support vehicles were permitted through as crews worked to clear debris. The difficult terrain and high altitude, approximately 4,800 metres above sea level, complicated access to the most severely affected areas.

Electricity was cut off across the affected region, though power was restored in some areas by Friday morning. Communication was also down in parts of the quake zone, according to state media. Local railway authorities halted trains passing through the region as an emergency measure.

Supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents and folding beds, torches, and winter clothing were dispatched to the region. More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed for rescue efforts. More than 300 police officers and nearly 350 fire and rescue personnel were also mobilised to the affected areas.

China's President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts in rescue operations and medical relief work. Premier Li Qiang called for "urgent efforts" to organise rescue operations and medical treatment for the injured, and to relocate and resettle affected residents appropriately. Li noted that the earthquake-hit area is at high altitude and prone to aftershocks.

The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a working group to the affected area to guide rescue and disaster relief operations. The Chinese government also announced it was allocating 50 million yuan, equivalent to approximately 5.6 million pounds or 7.5 million dollars, for disaster relief efforts in Tibet.

Intermittent snow was forecast for the quake region over the next three days, adding further difficulty to relief operations. Residents chose to spend the night outdoors in subzero temperatures, sheltering in tents or vehicles, fearing that aftershocks could trap them inside their homes.

Several survivors described their experiences to local media. Speaking to Tibet Daily, Nagqu resident Yixi Cuomu said she was asleep when her house began shaking violently. Realising it was an earthquake, she fled outside barefoot, "her legs trembling uncontrollably" as she descended the staircase. Another eyewitness described the shaking as so violent "that in that moment I felt as if several hundred yaks were running past us."

It was the strongest earthquake to hit China since January 2024, and the biggest quake in the Tibet region in the past five years, according to state media. Nagqu is located more than 300 kilometres north of Tibet's capital, Lhasa.

The region has a history of devastating seismic activity. In January 2025, at least 126 people were killed in an earthquake in Tibet's rural Tingri county. In December 2023, a quake in Gansu province killed at least 134 people. A massive tremor in Sichuan province in 2008 left approximately 90,000 people dead or missing.

Tibet and Nepal were also struck by severe floods and landslides less than two months ago, triggered by a glacier collapse, which killed at least 1,400 people, with hundreds more still reported missing.

With foreign media restricted from the region and information subject to heavy censorship, Chinese state media remains the primary source of updates when disasters occur in Tibet.