The number of people injured in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Tibet's Nagqu region on Thursday night has risen to 76, local government authorities said at a press conference on Friday, while the death toll remained unchanged at 16, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026
The quake, whose epicentre was in Baqen County in the high-altitude city of Nagqu, is the strongest to hit China since January 2024, Reuters said. The US Geological Survey said it struck at 10:33pm local time on Thursday, 191 kilometres east-north-east of Nagqu, and recorded at least seven aftershocks of magnitude 4.3 to 5.2, all at a depth of 10 kilometres. China's earthquake network said 413 aftershocks had been recorded in total.
Source: Reuters via ABC Australia; USGS via ABC Australia, Oct 24, 2026
More than 12,000 residents have been relocated — 12,489 people, according to Xinhua reporting cited by PTI — and no one was reported missing in Baqen County, where the earthquake struck. At least 339 homes collapsed on Thursday, and officials said homes that cracked or began leaning in the main quake could collapse in aftershocks, while rockfalls forced the closure of a section of National Highway 317 to all but emergency, rescue and official vehicles.
Source: Xinhua via ABC Australia and PTI, Oct 23-24, 2026
Rescuers had completed three rounds of household-by-household and village-by-village searches by Friday afternoon, acting mayor Dunzhu told a news conference, with more than 5,000 people from three local counties deployed, including more than 300 police officers sent to the epicentre. Search work is being complicated by the geography, low temperatures and intermittent snow expected over the next three days, officials said.
Source: ABC Australia / Xinhua, Oct 24, 2026
China has allocated 50 million yuan in emergency disaster relief funds and earmarked another 30 million yuan for recovery — yaani 5 crore yuan for immediate relief and 3 crore yuan more for recovery, 8 crore yuan in total — Xinhua reported. Supplies that reached the area included prefabricated housing, tents, folding beds, torches and winter clothing.
Source: Xinhua via PTI, Oct 23, 2026
Passenger trains on the affected section of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway resumed operations at reduced speeds on Friday morning, and electricity had been restored to 1,937 households in Baqen County by 10am on Friday, according to China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group and State Grid Xizang Electric Power, both cited by Xinhua. President Xi Jinping on Friday morning called for all-out rescue and medical relief efforts.