Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes remote Tibetan plateau

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck a remote part of the Tibetan plateau 183 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu at 14:33 UTC on Thursday, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

Why it matters: The epicentre sits in a sparsely populated high-altitude area far from any large city, and no casualty or damage reports had emerged in the first hour, but shallow earthquakes of this size can cause serious damage over a wide area and the Chinese assessment is still to come.

Data as of US Geological Survey event us6000u43g, October 22, 2026, read via the USGS event record (automatic solution, magnitude and location may be revised); the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) independently reported magnitude 7 at 10 km depth, via Reuters. No felt, casualty or damage reports had been received as of 11:15 EDT. Developing item.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Tibetan plateau at 14:33 UTC on Thursday (22:33 local time), with an epicentre at 32.336 degrees north, 93.714 degrees east, about 183 kilometres east-northeast of Nagqu and 50 kilometres north of Suo, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) independently reported the same magnitude and depth for a quake in Tibet.

The epicentre is in a remote, high-altitude area: Nagqu is the nearest city of size at roughly 184 kilometres away, and Lhasa is about 389 kilometres away. No casualty or damage reports had emerged in the first hour after the quake, and the USGS had received no felt reports, though the survey notes its automatic solution may be revised.

Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes remote Tibetan plateau

Sources