A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet on Thursday night, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) both reported, Reuters said.

Source: Reuters

The quake struck at 10:33 p.m. local time (14:33 GMT) with its epicentre in a county in Nagqu, in northern Tibet, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), CENC data showed, Reuters reported. The USGS listed the event as M 7.0, 183 km east-northeast of Nagqu, at 32.336°N, 93.714°E, also at 10 km depth.

A separate Reuters report said the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) also put the magnitude at 7 and the depth at 10 km — a third independent seismological reading in line with the USGS and CENC figures.

Source: Reuters / GFZ

Remote, high-altitude epicentre; impact still unclear

The epicentre lies in Baqen County in Nagqu, a remote and sparsely populated high-altitude area. In the first reports, casualties and the full extent of any damage remained unclear, and no casualty or damage figures are reported here because none had been confirmed by the sources at the time of writing.

Shaking was felt as far away as northern India, according to reports summarised on the event's reference pages. A shallow quake at 10 km depth releases its energy close to the surface, so strong shaking — modelled at up to MMI VIII (severe) near the epicentre in USGS data — is possible over a wide area, even where the population is thin.

7.0magnitude reported by USGS, CENC and GFZ
10 kmdepth — a shallow earthquake
22:33local time of the quake in Tibet (14:33 GMT)

What is solid

  • USGS, China's CENC and Germany's GFZ all reported a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Nagqu, Tibet, at 10 km depth on Thursday night.
  • No casualties or damage had been confirmed in the first Reuters, USGS and CENC reports.

What is only claimed

  • The extent of damage and any casualties in the remote epicentre area — not yet established in the sources; early figures from social media should not be treated as confirmed.