VIDEO: 7.0 earthquake strikes Tibet; 16 dead as CCTV clips capture terrifying moments
More than 1,600 emergency personnel have been deployed to distribute critical shelter supplies and assist survivors amid severe aftershocks and impending snowstorms
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet's Nagqu region, causing at least 16 deaths, injuring 54 people, and destroying hundreds of homes while triggering massive search and rescue operations
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet's Nagqu region, causing at least 16 deaths, injuring 54 people, and destroying hundreds of homes while triggering massive search and rescue operations
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northern Tibet's Nagqu region, causing at least 16 deaths, injuring 54 people, and destroying hundreds of homes while triggering massive search and rescue operations
A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Tibet on Thursday night, claiming at least 16 lives, injuring 54 people, and flattening hundreds of houses in the northern city of Nagqu, according to state media.
Search and rescue operations were underway following the destruction of at least 339 homes and 20 livestock shelters, the Nagqu media office reported, citing local municipal officials.
More than 1,600 personnel from the local county were mobilised to assist with emergency relief. Critical supplies—including 1,000 prefabricated shelters, around 3,000 tents, camp beds, torches, and heavy winter clothing—have arrived in the disaster centre.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the tremor struck at 10:33pm local time, with its epicentre located 191 kilometres (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu in a sparsely populated, high-altitude district of northern Tibet. The agency measured the earthquake’s depth at 18 kilometres (11 miles). Nagqu is situated more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet.
The USGS also registered at least seven aftershocks measuring between magnitude 4.3 and 5.2, each occurring at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), according to data published on its website.
China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Friday that telecommunications in parts of the area had been knocked out. Regional railway authorities took urgent steps to halt train services passing through the territory.
The tremors also triggered rockfalls that forced authorities to shut a section of National Highway 317, restricting access exclusively to emergency, rescue, and official response vehicles whilst road crews worked to clear debris, Xinhua said.
Intermittent snow showers are forecast across the affected area over the next three days, according to Xinhua.
The tremor was the most powerful earthquake recorded in the area over the past five years, state broadcaster CCTV noted.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in rescue operations and the organisation of prompt medical relief.