Casualties have been reported after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Baqen County in Nagqu, in China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, late on Thursday, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local authorities. Xinhua did not give a number or say whether the casualties were deaths or injuries, and the full toll is still unknown.

Source: Xinhua via Insider Paper / WFB News

Reuters, in a report carried by Internazionale, said authorities had found at least two people injured. That figure is preliminary: village checks near the epicentre were still under way on Thursday night, and officials had not published a complete casualty or damage count.

Houses collapsed, power and phones disrupted

The epicentre was in Maru Township in Baqen County, Xinhua said. The township's deputy head, Lhawang Dagpo, told the agency the quake was clearly felt at the township office, whose walls cracked. Houses were reported collapsed in the area, and power and telecoms services were disrupted in the county seat, Xinhua added. Workers have been sent to the area and local officials are checking nearby villages.

China's Earthquake Administration activated a Level-II emergency response, Xinhua reported earlier. Chinese reporting cited in a multi-source tracker said an initial team of about 80 rescuers was sent to check three counties.

The quake struck at 10:33 p.m. Beijing time (14:33 GMT). China's China Earthquake Networks Center put the epicentre at 32.40 degrees north and 93.79 degrees east, at a depth of 10 kilometres. The US Geological Survey also recorded magnitude 7.0, placing the epicentre about 183 to 191 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu, but put the depth at 18 kilometres — the agencies' depth figures differ, and neither should be treated as final.

An initial estimate from the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System suggested about 10,000 people were in areas that experienced strong shaking of intensity VII or more. That is a modelling estimate of exposure to shaking, not a casualty count.

7.0magnitude recorded by USGS and China's CENC
2+people found injured so far, Reuters says — preliminary
80rescuers first sent to check three counties, Chinese reporting says
10 kmdepth given by China's CENC; USGS gives 18 km

What is solid

  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Baqen County, Nagqu, at 10:33 p.m. Beijing time on Thursday, USGS and China's CENC agree
  • Xinhua, citing local authorities, says casualties have been reported, without giving a number
  • Reuters says authorities had found at least two people injured
  • Xinhua says houses collapsed in Maru Township, the township office walls cracked, and power and telecoms were disrupted in the county seat
  • China's Earthquake Administration activated a Level-II emergency response

What is only claimed

  • The total number of dead or injured — no confirmed toll has been published, and early reports ranged from 'no casualties reported' to 'casualties reported'
  • The quake's depth: China's CENC says 10 km, the USGS says 18 km
  • Whether anyone has died — Xinhua's word 'casualties' does not specify deaths, and no death toll has been confirmed by a second source

Earthquakes are common in the Tibetan Plateau, where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet. In January 2025, an earthquake in Tibet's Tingri County killed at least 126 people. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as officials publish a confirmed toll.

Read our first report on the earthquake, published when the damage was still unclear: Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Tibet's Nagqu