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Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake in Tibet’s Nagqu Kills at Least 16, Injures 76 as Rescue Continues in Baqên County

Free China Movement

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Baqên County in Nagqu, in the northern Tibet Autonomous Region, late on Thursday, October 22, 2026, killing at least 16 people and injuring 76, according to figures released at the Nagqu City Government’s first press conference on the disaster on Friday, October 23, Beijing time, and reported by CCTV and Xinhua; the previous official tally, reported by Reuters earlier that day, put the injured at 65. Search and rescue work is continuing in a high-altitude area where the average elevation near the epicenter exceeds 4,800 meters.

What happened

The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) recorded the quake at 10:33 p.m. Beijing time on October 22 (14:33 UTC; 10:33 a.m. EDT), with the epicenter at 32.40°N, 93.79°E in Baqên County and a focal depth of 10 kilometers. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also measured magnitude 7.0, placing the epicenter 191 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu at a depth of 18 kilometers — the depth figures differ between the two agencies, and both are reported here as published. CENC said all ten townships of Baqên County felt the quake, with Maru and Gangche townships feeling it most strongly. The China Earthquake Administration activated a Level-II emergency response, its second-highest tier.

Update — October 22, 2026 (9:50 p.m. EDT)

Xinhua reported at 8:45 a.m. Beijing time on October 23 (8:45 p.m. EDT on October 22) that the earthquake had killed 16 people and injured 54 — the injured count revised up from the relief headquarters’ earlier figure of 46, with the death toll unchanged. The State Council Earthquake Relief Headquarters Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management raised the national earthquake-disaster emergency response from Level IV to Level III, and a working group led by China Earthquake Administration head Wang Kun was dispatched to the disaster area. A Wing Loong drone was tasked with damage reconnaissance, and national fire and rescue services deployed 350 personnel and 83 vehicles, of whom 120 personnel and 27 vehicles had arrived in the disaster area by 6:30 a.m. Beijing time on October 23, according to Xinhua.

Update — October 22, 2026 (11:45 p.m. EDT)

Reuters reported on Friday, October 23, Beijing time, that the number of people injured had risen to 65, citing a local-government social-media post, while the death toll remained unchanged at 16. Reuters also reported Xinhua as saying that more than 12,000 people had been safely relocated, and that the Nagqu police department said more than 300 police officers had been sent to the epicentre area for rescue and relief work. No serious/minor breakdown was given for the 65 figure, so the earlier breakdown is not carried over to the new total. Casualty figures remain official-source claims and have not been independently verified on the ground.

Update — October 23, 2026 (3:05 a.m. EDT)

At its first press conference on the disaster, held on Friday, October 23, Beijing time, the Nagqu City Government press office reported that, as of 1:00 p.m. Beijing time that day, the earthquake had killed 16 people and injured 76, with 339 households’ homes collapsed or damaged and 20 livestock sheds damaged, according to CCTV and Xinhua reports of the conference. The death toll was unchanged from earlier official tallies; the injured count rose from the 65 reported earlier in the day. No serious/minor breakdown was given for the 76 figure. Casualty figures remain official-source claims and have not been independently verified on the ground.

Casualties and damage — official figures, still being updated

Casualty figures in this report come from official Chinese sources and have not been independently verified on the ground; they may change as rescue teams reach more villages.

  • At the Nagqu City Government’s first press conference on October 23, Beijing time, officials reported — as of 1:00 p.m. Beijing time — 16 people dead and 76 injured, with 339 households’ homes collapsed or damaged and 20 livestock sheds damaged, according to CCTV and Xinhua. No serious/minor breakdown was given for the 76 figure.
  • Reuters reported on Friday, October 23, Beijing time, citing a local-government social-media post, that the toll stood at 16 people dead and 65 injured, and reported Xinhua as saying more than 12,000 people had been safely relocated. No serious/minor breakdown was given for the 65 figure.
  • In its update published on the morning of October 23, Beijing time, Xinhua reported 16 people dead and 54 injured. Xinhua gave no serious/minor breakdown for the 54 figure, so the earlier breakdown is not carried over to the new total.
  • An earlier report by the Associated Press, citing the Nagqu media office via Xinhua, put the toll at at least 16 dead and 32 injured (11 seriously, 21 with minor injuries), with at least 339 homes collapsed.
  • In its later update, the Nagqu earthquake relief headquarters reported — as of 5:20 a.m. Beijing time on October 23 (5:20 p.m. EDT on October 22) — 16 people dead and 46 injured (11 seriously, 35 with minor injuries), 339 households with homes collapsed or damaged, and 20 livestock sheds damaged.

Police and fire-department rescue teams were building tents for displaced residents, railway services through the affected area were suspended, and relief supplies including tents, quilts and heating equipment were being sent to the disaster area, according to CCTV and Xinhua reporting. The USGS issued an orange alert for economic losses, assessing that significant damage is likely and that the disaster is potentially widespread; aftershocks, including a magnitude 5.2, were recorded in the hours after the main shock.

Context

The Tibetan Plateau is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Dingri County, Tibet, in January 2025 killed more than 100 people. Baqên County’s scattered villages, extreme altitude and cold nighttime temperatures complicate rescue and relief work, and past disasters in the region have raised lasting questions about construction quality, reconstruction and public accountability — questions the Free China Movement examined after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (see Related reading).

Verification status: The earthquake’s magnitude, time and epicenter are verified, recorded independently by CENC and the USGS and reported by Reuters, AP and CNN. Casualty and damage figures are official-source claims: they originate with the Nagqu media office, Xinhua, CCTV and the Nagqu earthquake relief headquarters, and no independent on-the-ground verification was available at publication. This story will be updated as confirmed figures change.

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Sources