Winter Storms Threaten Rescue Efforts in Nagqu After Deadly Quake

Intermittent snow is forecast for the next three days in northern Tibet, complicating rescue operations following a magnitude-7 earthquake that killed at least 16 people. The tremor struck on Thursday night, injuring 54 others and collapsing infrastructure in the region around the city of Nagqu.

The Nagqu media office stated that at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed. Search and rescue teams remained active on the ground. China's national broadcaster CCTV identified the event as the largest seismic activity in the area within the last five years.

The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 10.33 p.m. local time on Thursday. Its epicenter was located 119 miles, or 191 kilometers, east-northeast of Nagqu in a sparsely populated, high-altitude zone. The shock occurred at a depth of 11 miles. The agency logged at least seven aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.3 to 5.2, each at a depth of 6 miles.

CCTV footage showed workers fleeing restaurants and goods falling from supermarket shelves during the initial shaking. Rescuers were seen navigating through buildings with collapsed roofs. Local authorities deployed more than 1,600 personnel from the county for assistance. Xinhua reported that over 300 police officers and nearly 350 fire and rescue personnel joined the relief efforts.

Supplies delivered to the area include 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches, and winter clothing. Communications remained down in parts of the affected zone on Friday. Railway authorities halted trains passing through the region as a precaution.

Rockfalls closed a section of national highway 317, restricting access to emergency and official support vehicles while crews cleared debris. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in rescue and medical relief. Nagqu is situated more than 185 miles north of Lhasa, the regional capital.

Earthquakes occur with relative frequency in China. In January 2025, a quake in Tingri county killed at least 126 people. A December 2023 earthquake in Gansu province killed at least 134 people, making it the deadliest in the country since 2014. In August, a flood struck the Tibet-Nepal border, with limited international media access to the Tibetan side of the disaster.