Tibet earthquake death toll rises to 16 as rescue teams reach Nagqu villages

The death toll from Thursday night’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tibet’s Nagqu region has risen to 16, with 32 people injured — a stark escalation from initial reports that confirmed no deaths. Nagqu City’s emergency management bureau reported the toll through state news agency Xinhua. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/22/magnitude-7-earthquake-kills-16-people-in-chinas-tibet-xinhua-reports)

Eleven of the injured are in serious condition and 21 have minor injuries, the bureau said. At least 339 houses have collapsed, and police and fire department rescue teams are building tents to shelter the displaced as search operations continue through the night. (https://www.arabnews.com/world/a-70-earthquake-hits-chinas-tibet-killing-16-and-injuring-32-3007819)

The quake struck at 10:33 p.m. local time (14:33 GMT), and was the biggest in the region in five years, broadcaster CCTV said. Its epicentre lay about 191 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet; the US Geological Survey put the depth at 18 kilometres, while China’s Earthquake Networks Center put it at 10 kilometres. (https://www.arabnews.com/world/a-70-earthquake-hits-chinas-tibet-killing-16-and-injuring-32-3007819)

China’s Earthquake Administration has activated a Level II emergency response, its second-highest tier, as previously reported. The USGS said significant damage is possible but casualties are likely limited by the area’s extremely sparse population. This is a developing story.