Magnitude 7 earthquake strikes northern Tibet in China

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Nagqu in northern China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, the China Earthquake Networks Center said. No immediate information was available on casualties or damage.

The China Earthquake Networks Center announced that a magnitude 7 earthquake struck one of the counties in the Nagqu area of northern China’s Tibet Autonomous Region at 22:33 local time on Thursday, October 22. The earthquake occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometers, with its epicenter approximately 400 kilometers from Lhasa, the regional capital.

There was no immediate information on casualties or damage to buildings. Assessing the damage is expected to take time because of the area’s high-altitude, mountainous and remote terrain. India’s National Center for Seismology estimated the earthquake’s depth at 173 kilometers.

جهاز رصد الزلازل (صورة توضيحية)

An earthquake-prone region

The Tibetan Plateau, formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates, is one of the world’s most seismically active regions. In January 2025, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, killed 126 people in Tibet’s Tingri County.