A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet late on Thursday night, October 22, 2026, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens more in a remote, high-altitude region of China. The shallow tremor collapsed hundreds of homes in Baqen County and triggered a major search-and-rescue operation that continued into Friday morning, as rescuers worked in freezing conditions nearly 5,000 meters above sea level.
The earthquake hit at 10:33 p.m. local time (1433 GMT), with its epicenter in Maru township, Baqen County, in the Nagqu region of northern Tibet, according to China's state news agency Xinhua and the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) located the epicenter roughly 191 kilometers (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu city and about 390 kilometers northeast of the regional capital, Lhasa.
Casualty figures were still being updated on Friday morning. As of 7:00 a.m. on October 23, local emergency authorities reported 16 deaths and 54 injured, with 11 of the injured in serious condition, according to Xinhua, citing the Nagqu City Emergency Management Bureau. The death toll had held steady at 16 through successive official updates, while the injury count rose as rescue teams reached more villages: 32 injured were reported at 2:25 a.m., 46 at 5:20 a.m., and 54 at 7:00 a.m. An earlier report citing 18 deaths was not reflected in the later, more detailed official tallies. At least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds had collapsed, Xinhua reported.
What happened in Nagqu
The quake's epicenter was placed at 32.40 degrees north latitude and 93.79 degrees east longitude, in a sparsely populated mountainous area of Baqen County, the CENC said. China put the earthquake's depth at about 10 kilometers (6 miles), while the USGS estimated a depth of around 18 kilometers. Both measurements describe a shallow earthquake — the kind most capable of causing severe damage at the surface, since the seismic energy has little earth to travel through before reaching homes and infrastructure.
The shaking was strongly felt across Nagqu and in the nearby Tibetan cities of Qamdo and Nyingchi, with milder tremors reported as far away as Lhasa, according to state media. The township deputy head of Maru, Lhawang Dagpo, told Xinhua that the quake was clearly felt at the township office, which sustained cracks in its walls.
Damage beyond collapsed homes included rockfalls that blocked sections of National Highway 317 — the key road link into the area — with access restricted to emergency and rescue vehicles, according to the Associated Press. Local rail services were suspended, and power and telecommunications were disrupted in parts of Baqen County. The county seat, about 70 kilometers from Maru township, lost power when the quake hit, further complicating the response.
The human toll so far
The confirmed figures as of Friday morning, as reported by Xinhua citing the Nagqu City Emergency Management Bureau, were: 16 people killed, 54 injured (11 seriously, 43 with minor injuries), at least 339 homes collapsed and 20 livestock sheds damaged. The regional emergency management bureau and the Associated Press have reported consistent figures through the night, while some international outlets carried earlier or partial numbers — 32 injured in the first official tally, 46 a few hours later. The rising injury count reflects the reality of a disaster in a remote area: figures change as communication is restored and house-to-house checks reach isolated villages.
State media footage showed residents gathering outdoors in the dark, taking shelter in vehicles and open areas as buildings shook — a standard and sensible response to strong shaking, since being outside and away from structures greatly reduces the risk of injury from collapsing buildings.
The numbers also underline how exposed rural Tibetan communities are to earthquakes. Traditional stone and mud-brick houses, common in the region's villages, can fail quickly under strong shaking, and the 339 collapsed homes explain much of the human toll. Disaster officials said the full extent of damage was still being evaluated as of Friday morning.
This earthquake is among the strongest to strike China in recent years and one of the deadliest on the Tibetan Plateau since January 2025, when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Dingri area of Tibet killed more than 120 people and injured hundreds, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. For readers following disaster coverage, our account of the Indonesia wildfire crisis describes another major emergency response unfolding across difficult terrain this month.
All-out rescue in thin air
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search-and-rescue operation, directing authorities to prioritize saving lives, provide immediate medical treatment to the injured, and intensify efforts to find anyone still missing, state media reported.
More than 1,600 rescue personnel from nearby areas were deployed, according to state media, including more than 300 police officers and 347 members of the regional fire and rescue corps. The Western Theater Command of the Chinese military used drones to perform reconnaissance flights over the affected area, and more than 300 military personnel and 20 vehicles from the Tibet Military Region and Tibet Armed Police Corps were activated. The Armed Police also activated its field medical team and rescue vehicles.
Emergency supplies arriving in the region included 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents, folding beds, quilts and stoves — critical items in a region where nighttime temperatures are already falling fast at altitude, Xinhua reported.
The geography makes this one of the most difficult rescue environments in the world. The CENC puts the average elevation within 5 kilometers of the epicenter at about 4,864 meters (15,960 feet) — higher than any permanent settlement in most countries, and high enough for altitude to slow rescue workers unaccustomed to it. Weather authorities forecast intermittent snowfall in the affected areas over the next three days, which could further complicate rescue and recovery operations, according to state media.
Why Tibet is one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions
Tibet sits directly on the boundary between two of the Earth's great tectonic plates. The Indian plate is slowly colliding with the Eurasian plate — the same collision that raised the Himalayas — and the immense strain is released in earthquakes across the Tibetan Plateau. The region experiences frequent seismic activity, and shallow, destructive quakes are a recurring feature of its history.
Recent history makes the point. In January 2025, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Tibet killed more than 120 people. In 2023, a 6.2-magnitude quake in neighboring Gansu province killed more than 120. And as recently as September 3, 2026, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck Tibet at a depth of about 14 kilometers, though with no reported casualties, according to IANS reporting. Thursday's quake is the strongest in Tibet since the January 2025 disaster.
Experts also note that high-altitude regions like the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau face compounding risks: cold, remoteness, and difficult supply lines turn an already serious earthquake into a logistics crisis. For more on the wider pressures shaping the region and beyond, see our report on the Hormuz crisis and its global consequences.
What happens next
Disaster officials said damage assessments and search operations were continuing into Friday, and the casualty figures may change as more remote villages are reached. Authorities are also monitoring for aftershocks — strong tremors often follow a quake of this size, and damaged buildings that survived the main shock can collapse in the hours and days after. Residents have been advised to stay in open areas and temporary shelters rather than re-entering damaged homes.
The immediate priorities, according to official statements, are clear: locate anyone still trapped or missing, treat the injured — especially the 11 reported in serious condition — and get the displaced into heated shelter before the forecast snow arrives. Relief supplies began reaching the area before dawn on Friday, and temporary tent settlements were being set up for residents forced from their homes.
As with any fast-developing disaster, early figures should be treated with caution. What is confirmed as of Friday morning: a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Maru township, Baqen County, at 10:33 p.m. on October 22; 16 people were killed; at least 54 were injured; more than 330 homes collapsed; and a major rescue operation is underway in one of the highest inhabited regions on Earth. The Global Spy will continue to follow this developing story.
