Magnitude 7 Quake Jolts China’s Tibet Region

WHO:

CNN - The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the earthquake’s magnitude and location.

ABC News - The USGS reported the earthquake’s time, epicenter, and depth.

ABC News - China’s official Xinhua News Agency cited the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) for a separate depth measurement.

WHAT:

CNN - A magnitude 7 earthquake struck China’s Tibet region; the extent of damage was unclear.

ABC News - A magnitude 7 earthquake struck with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

ABC News - The USGS measured the quake’s depth at 18 kilometers (11 miles); CENC put it at 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

CNN - A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a remote, mountainous part of Xinjiang in January 2024, killing three people and injuring scores more.

CNN - An earthquake in Jishishan county, Gansu province, killed more than 100 people in December 2023; CNN described it as China’s deadliest earthquake in nearly a decade.

WHERE:

CNN - The epicenter was 183 kilometers east-northeast of Nagqu in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western China.

ABC News - The epicenter was 191 kilometers (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet.

ABC News - Nagqu is more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital.

WHEN:

CNN - The quake struck at 10:30 p.m. local time on Thursday.

ABC News - The quake occurred at 10:33 p.m. local time on Thursday.

WHY:

CNN - CNN says powerful earthquakes are common in southwestern China, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet; their collision forms the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

(UPDATED October 22, 2026 17:18 UTC)

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The USGS placed the epicenter east-northeast of Nagqu, with measurements ranging from 183 to 191 kilometers away. Nagqu is more than 300 kilometers north of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. The quake struck late Thursday evening local time, with reported times differing slightly: 10:30 and 10:33. The USGS measured its depth at 18 kilometers, while China’s Earthquake Networks Center put it at 10 kilometers. The full extent of damage remained unclear. Powerful earthquakes are common in southwestern China, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, shaping the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. In recent years, earthquakes elsewhere in China have caused significant casualties, including one in Xinjiang and a deadly quake in Gansu.