Nagqu officials report 16 dead and 339 homes destroyed after 7.0 tremor
Rescue crews face falling snow and closed highways as they clear debris in northern Tibet.
By Aiko Soto ·
The ground shook violently in northern Tibet on Thursday evening.
A magnitude 7 earthquake killed at least 16 people and injured 46 others in the region. Local authorities in the city of Nagqu confirmed that 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed. Eleven of the injured are in serious condition, while the other 35 sustained minor injuries. Search and rescue operations were still active as of Friday morning.
Local county officials deployed more than 1,600 personnel to the site. Relief supplies have arrived, including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents, and folding beds. The package also included flashlights and winter clothing for those displaced by the quake.
Infrastructure damage has disrupted travel and communication. Xinhua reported that communication lines are down in parts of the region. Railway authorities stopped all trains from passing through the affected area. Officials closed a section of National Highway 317 due to rockfalls. Only emergency, rescue, and official support vehicles are currently permitted to pass while crews clear the debris.
Weather conditions threaten to slow the response. Xinhua noted that intermittent snow is expected in the quake zone over the next three days. The U.S. Geological Survey placed the epicenter 191 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu at a depth of 18 kilometers. The quake struck at 10:33 p.m. local time. CCTV described the event as the largest earthquake in the area in five years.
Nagqu is located more than 300 kilometers north of Lhasa, the regional capital. The epicenter lies in a sparsely populated, high-altitude zone. Officials continue to assess the damage as rescue teams work through the night.
