Powerful Magnitude-7 Earthquake in Tibet Kills at Least 16, More Than 300 Homes Collapse

A powerful magnitude-7 earthquake in Tibet, China, has killed at least 16 people. Many people were also injured in the incident.

More than a hundred houses collapsed in the earthquake and power supply was cut off, according to initial information.

The quake struck at around 10:33pm local time on Thursday, October 22, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said.

According to CENC, the epicentre was in Bachen County in the Nagqu region of northern Tibet. Its centre was 10 kilometres below the surface.

Within a five-kilometre radius of the epicentre, the average altitude of the land is about 4,864 metres above sea level. The scale of damage from a quake in such high mountain terrain was a concern from the start.

A BBC report said more than 300 homes collapsed in the earthquake. While initial counts spoke of over a hundred homes, the BBC figure is higher than that.

Authorities have declared a state of emergency in the affected area and deployed rescue teams. Rescuers are continuing work to free people trapped in the rubble.

With power supply cut off, normal communication and night-time rescue work in the affected area have become more difficult. Searching whether anyone else remains trapped under collapsed homes is now the rescuers' main task.

The epicentre of this earthquake is located about 400 kilometres from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

This is the strongest earthquake to hit China since January 2024. That single fact is enough to convey the severity of the tremor in terms of its power.

The death toll so far is known to be at least 16. Many injured people have been mentioned, but their exact number was not available in the initial information.

As rescue work progresses, the full picture of the damage will become clearer. Attention will now be on the authorities' next updates under the state of emergency.