A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Baqen County in Nagqu City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, at 10:33 p.m. Thursday, according to local authorities cited by CGTN.

As of 1 p.m.

The quake hit at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), per China's seismology agency, with an average elevation around the epicentre of roughly 4,864 metres (15,960 feet), according to CENC data cited by India Today — a sparsely populated, high-altitude area where rescue teams face severe terrain and cold.

India Today reports this was the strongest earthquake to hit China since January 2024, making it a significant seismic event for the country.

The destruction was concentrated in housing: CGTN says more than 300 houses collapsed, while the Nagqu media office, cited via the Associated Press in India Today, put the toll at 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds.

The China Earthquake Administration has activated a Level-III emergency response, according to CGTN, and the quake was followed by a series of smaller tremors measuring around magnitude 3 and 4 in surrounding areas, per CENC data reported by India Today.

Videos circulating on social media captured scenes of panic as residents ran screaming into the streets and sheltered in cars, wary of returning indoors, India Today reports; one resident described waking as the house made squeaking sounds while shaking.

Relief mobilization is now large-scale: CGTN reports more than 300 police officers have been dispatched to the epicentre and the regional fire and rescue corps mobilized 347 personnel.

India Today, citing the Associated Press, reports more than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed for rescue operations, with relief supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents and folding beds, flashlights and winter clothing arriving in the region.

The damage assessment is ongoing, and CGTN notes disaster relief work is underway as authorities continue to reach affected residents.

The stakes are considerable: with hundreds of homes collapsed in a high-altitude region, survivors face winter conditions, and the delivery of prefabricated housing, tents and winter clothing signals a prolonged emergency-shelter operation.

The region's history underscores the risk — India Today recalls a magnitude-7.1 quake that struck Yushu in neighbouring Qinghai province in 2010, killing at least 2,698 people and leaving nearly 300 missing.

Updates on casualties and structural damage are expected as rescue teams work through the affected areas.