A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Tibet’s remote northern Nagqu region on Thursday night, shaking a sparsely populated, high-altitude area and sending residents out of their homes, as rescue teams mobilised to assess damage in villages near the epicentre.
The Tibet earthquake magnitude 7 tremor hit at 10:33 p.m. local time (1433 GMT) on Thursday, October 22, 2026, according to China’s earthquake monitoring agency and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), both of which put the magnitude at 7.0.
FAKTA: Tibet Earthquake Magnitude 7 at a Glance
- Magnitude: 7.0, reported by both the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) and the USGS.
- Time: 10:33 p.m. local time on Thursday, October 22, 2026 (1433 GMT).
- Location: Baqen County in Nagqu, northern Tibet, about 191 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu city, according to the USGS.
- Depth: 10 kilometres according to CENC and 18 kilometres according to the USGS; depth estimates differed slightly between agencies.
- People affected: At least two people were injured in a village near the epicentre, according to state broadcaster reports carried by Reuters; some houses in villages closest to the epicentre showed cracks.
- Response: Local fire and rescue teams have mobilised and are heading to the affected region, state media said.
Tibet Earthquake Magnitude 7 Shakes Remote Nagqu Region
The epicentre was in a high-altitude county in northern Tibet, where the average elevation within 5 kilometres of the epicentre is about 4,864 metres, CENC data showed. The quake was clearly felt in the local area, CENC said, and the epicentre was around 400 kilometres from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
Videos released by officially run local media showed people leaving their homes and seeking shelter outside or in cars parked on the street. One resident reported being woken by the strong quake and hearing the house creak during the tremor, Reuters reported.
Injuries Reported as Damage Assessment Continues
Early reports said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, but later state broadcaster reports carried by Reuters said local authorities had found at least two people injured in a village near the epicentre, with cracks appearing in some houses in the villages closest to the epicentre.
Assessments were still continuing, and the full picture of damage was not yet known. The USGS said significant casualties and damage were possible but likely limited given the area’s extremely sparse population, and it flagged a landslide hazard in the steep terrain of the Tibetan Plateau.
Aftershocks Follow the Main Quake
A string of smaller tremors of around magnitude 3 and 4 was recorded in surrounding regions following the magnitude 7 quake, CENC data showed. A magnitude 5.2 aftershock was felt about 45 minutes after the main quake, according to USGS-based reporting.
Reuters reported that the quake was the strongest to hit China since January 2024. The region sits in one of the world’s most seismically active zones, where the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates drives frequent earthquakes across Tibet and surrounding areas.
A Region With a History of Deadly Quakes
In 2010, a magnitude 7.1 tremor struck Yushu in neighbouring Qinghai province, around 280 kilometres away, killing at least 2,698 people and leaving nearly 300 people missing, Reuters reported.
Thursday’s quake struck a far more sparsely populated area, which officials and seismologists said was a key reason early casualty reports remained low. Rescue teams were continuing to reach the affected villages, and further updates were expected as surveys of the damage were completed.
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