China dispatches 1,600 workers to Nagqu after magnitude 7 quake
The earthquake, which killed 16 people and destroyed 339 homes, forced the closure of key transport routes in northern Tibet.
By Emma Mehta ·
The Chinese government mobilized more than 1,600 local workers to conduct search and rescue operations in Nagqu following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the region on Thursday night. The tremor, which killed at least 16 people and injured 54, caused widespread structural damage across the high-altitude city and its surrounding areas.
The Nagqu media office confirmed that 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed in the disaster. The US Geological Survey recorded the initial shock at 10.33 p.m. local time, placing the epicenter 119 miles east-north-east of Nagqu at a depth of 11 miles. The agency reported seven aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.3 to 5.2 in the hours following the main event.
Relief efforts have expanded rapidly to meet the needs of survivors in a region facing approaching winter weather. Authorities dispatched over 300 police officers and nearly 350 fire and rescue personnel to the site. Supply convoys delivered 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches, and winter clothing to those displaced by the quake.
Infrastructure damage has complicated the logistics of the rescue mission. Xinhua News Agency reported that communications were down in several affected zones, and local railway authorities halted train traffic through the region. Rockfalls closed a section of National Highway 317, restricting passage to emergency and support vehicles while crews cleared debris. Meteorologists forecast intermittent snow for the next three days.
President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out effort for rescue and medical relief in the aftermath of the event. CCTV described the quake as the most powerful in the area in five years, citing footage of residents fleeing restaurants and rescuers navigating collapsed buildings. Nagqu is located more than 185 miles north of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
The region has experienced other major seismic events in recent years. In January 2025, a quake in Tingri county killed at least 126 people. In December 2023, an earthquake in Gansu province resulted in at least 134 deaths, which state media identified as the deadliest in China since the 2014 Yunnan quake that killed more than 600 people.
Source: The Guardian
