Daijiworld Media Network - Beijing

Beijing, Oct 22: A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7 struck China’s southwestern Tibet region at around 10.33 pm local time on Thursday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The earthquake’s epicentre was located in a high-altitude county in Nagqu, northern Tibet, at a depth of 10 km, CENC data showed. The average elevation within 5 km of the epicentre was approximately 4,864 metres above sea level.

The tremor was clearly felt in the surrounding area, the CENC said. The epicentre was around 400 km from Lhasa, the regional capital.

The earthquake was reported to be the strongest to hit China since January 2024. However, the extent of the damage and the impact on residents in the affected region were not immediately known.

The quake has raised concerns because of its magnitude and the challenging terrain surrounding the epicentre, where the high elevation and remote location could complicate emergency response and damage assessments.

In a similar major earthquake in 2010, a magnitude 7.1 tremor struck Yushu in neighbouring Qinghai province, around 280 km from the latest epicentre. The disaster killed at least 2,698 people and left nearly 300 others missing.

Authorities were yet to provide further details about the impact of Thursday’s earthquake.