7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes Tibet's Nagqu region

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Baqen County in Nagqu City, Tibet (Xizang Autonomous Region), on October 22, 2026, at 10:33 p.m. local time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The epicenter was located at 32.40 degrees north latitude and 93.79 degrees east longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers. The India Meteorological Department reported the same magnitude and depth, while the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) also confirmed a magnitude 7 reading at 10 km depth. However, India's National Seismological Center reported the epicenter at a significantly deeper depth of approximately 173 kilometers. The quake was clearly felt in the local area, located approximately 400 km from Lhasa. The China Earthquake Administration initiated a Level-II emergency response following the event.

The earthquake occurs amid the region's ongoing recovery from catastrophic floods triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, 2026. Those floods left over 1,400 people dead and thousands missing across the Nepal-China border region, affecting areas including the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river valleys. Search and recovery operations reported more than 6,000 people still missing in the affected areas weeks after the disaster.

Authorized officials and researchers have highlighted the region's vulnerability to compound natural hazards. Chinese researchers have warned that climate change is accelerating glacier loss across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, creating increased risks for future disasters such as ice-rock avalanches and flooding. The plateau serves as the source of several major transboundary rivers, including the Brahmaputra, making environmental changes there significant for downstream communities across South Asia.