DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE HITS TIBET: 16 people killed, more than 12,000 evacuated! (VIDEO)

The number of people injured in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck southwestern Chinese Tibet has risen to 65, local authorities announced in a social media post, while the death toll remains unchanged at 16.

The earthquake, whose epicenter was in Nagqu — a sparsely populated city at a high altitude in northern Tibet — is the strongest tremor to hit China since January 2024.

More than a dozen people were killed when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit China’s Tibet on Thursday evening local time, according to local officials. Security cameras captured crowds running out of buildings as the tremors began. https://t.co/9prKSArbqB

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 22, 2026

More than 300 police officers, including traffic police and community policing personnel, were dispatched to the epicenter to carry out rescue operations and provide emergency assistance, the Nagqu Public Security Bureau announced.

Footage released by police shows officers loading supplies onto a truck in the dark, as well as inspecting a building and rubble using flashlights.

More than 12,000 people have been safely evacuated, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Footage previously released by local official media shows people leaving their homes and seeking shelter outdoors or in cars parked along the street. One resident said he was woken by a powerful tremor and heard his house creaking.

तिब्बत में 7 की तीव्रता के भूकंप ने मचाई तबाही, 16 लोगों की मौत #Tibet #Earthquake | @shikha_thakur7 @AnjeetLive https://t.co/LXZ6neMfCE

— Zee News (@ZeeNews) October 23, 2026

The China Earthquake Networks Center said in a post that 413 aftershocks had been recorded.

In 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Yushu in the neighboring province of Qinghai, killing at least 2,698 people, while nearly 300 others were reported missing.