1,600 Workers Deployed to Nagqu as Winter Gear Arrives After Deadly Tremor

Rescue operations in Nagqu, Tibet, intensified on Friday after a magnitude-7 earthquake killed at least 16 people and injured 54 on Thursday night. Local authorities have deployed more than 1,600 personnel from the county to assist with search and rescue efforts in the high-altitude region.

The tremor struck at 10.33 pm local time on Thursday, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicenter was located 191 kilometers east-north-east of Nagqu, at a depth of 11 miles. The agency recorded seven aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.3 to 5.2. CCTV described the event as the most powerful earthquake in the area in the last five years.

The Nagqu media office reported that at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed in and around the city. Xinhua News Agency stated that over 300 police officers and nearly 350 firefighters were dispatched to the site. Supplies shipped to the region include 1,000 prefabricated housing units, approximately 3,000 tents, folding beds, torches, and winter clothing to prepare for cold weather.

Transportation links through the region have been disrupted. Local railway authorities halted train services as a precaution. Rockfalls closed a section of National Highway 317, restricting access to emergency, rescue, and official vehicles while crews clear debris. Communications remain down in some affected areas, complicating the coordination of relief efforts.

Intermittent snow is forecast for the next three days, adding urgency to the distribution of winter gear. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in the rescue operation and medical relief work. Nagqu is situated more than 185 miles north of Lhasa, the regional capital. The area is seismically active, having suffered a deadly quake in Tingri county in January 2025 that killed at least 126 people.

The 2023 Gansu earthquake killed at least 134 people, while the 2014 Yunnan quake claimed more than 600 lives. In August, a flood hit the border of Tibet and Nepal, with state media controlling the flow of information regarding the damage on the Tibetan side. The current disaster occurs in a region where the predominantly ethnic Tibetan population maintains a complex relationship with central government controls.