A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck China’s southwestern region of Tibet on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and sending others fleeing outdoors, according to Chinese state media.
The earthquake hit at 10:33 p.m. local time around 119 miles from the city of Nagqu in northern Tibet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several subsequent tremors were reported in the region. The quake left at least 54 people injured and destroyed more than 300 homes, state media reported.
Video footage released by China’s state broadcaster showed dozens of people running from stores, restaurants and apartment buildings as the quake shook the ground. Soldiers and rescue workers were also shown loading water and food supplies onto military trucks and driving along a narrow road to reach the affected area.
The quake disrupted water and electricity for residents living in villages around Maru township, the epicenter of the earthquake. There are around 7,605 residents in Maru, according to a 2020 census.
More than 1,600 search and rescue workers have been sent to the city of Nagqu, the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reported. Eleven of those injured were seriously hurt. At least one person trapped under rubble was successfully rescued.
Xi Jinping, China’s leader, called for “intensified effort” by rescue workers and urged officials to continue to monitor the situation and weather in the area, which is at a high altitude where the air is cold and snow is expected in the coming days.
Nagqu is around 300 miles from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Annexed by Beijing in the 1950s, Tibet is tightly surveilled and has been a place of protest, including self-immolations, by Tibetans who have long fought to maintain their religious freedom and cultural identity, which is separate from the majority Han Chinese.
It is also one of the most underdeveloped parts of China, with many areas difficult to reach. Deadly floods that swept through another part of Tibet in September killed at least dozens in Tibet and 1,300 people in Nepal.
The Himalayan region has recorded powerful earthquakes in the recent past. A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Nepal in 2015 killed nearly 9,000 people.
Murphy Zhao contributed reporting.
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