Tibet earthquake injures 65, death toll remains at 16
Photo: REUTERS
A magnitude 7 earthquake that struck the southwestern region of China’s Tibet has injured 65 people, local government confirmed in a Friday social media post, while the death toll remains at 16.
With its epicenter situated in Nagqu, a sparsely populated, high-altitude city in northern Tibet, the quake stands as the strongest tremor to hit China since January 2024.
Nagqu police department announced in a post on the messaging app WeChat that authorities dispatched more than 300 police officers, including traffic and community police personnel, to the epicenter to execute rescue and emergency relief work.
Deployed officers inspected homes for damage and assisted residents in moving to safer locations.
A video published by police on Douyin, the sister application of TikTok, captured officers packing supplies into a truck in the dark and inspecting buildings and rubble with flashlights.
State news outlet Xinhua reported that emergency personnel have safely relocated over 12,000 people.
Earlier videos released by local official media showed residents leaving their homes to seek refuge outdoors or inside vehicles parked on the street. One resident reported waking up to the violent quake and hearing the house squeak during the tremor.
In an online update, the China Earthquake Networks Center confirmed that seismologists recorded 413 aftershocks.
In 2010, a magnitude 7.1 tremor rocked Yushu in neighboring Qinghai province, killing at least 2,698 people and leaving nearly 300 people missing.
Source: Reuters (adapted)
