Beijing: A magnitude 7.0- earthquake hit China's Tibet region on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people, injuring 54 and collapsing hundreds of homes in the northern regional city of Nagqu, official media said.
Search and rescue efforts continued following the collapse of at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds, the Nagqu media office said, citing city government officials.
More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed for rescue efforts. Supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents and folding beds, as well as flashlights and winter clothing arrived in the region.
China's official news agency Xinhua said on Friday that communication in part of the region has been down. Local railway authorities have taken emergency actions to halt trains passing through the region.
The earthquake also caused rockfalls that have forced local authorities to close a section of National Highway 317, allowing only emergency, rescue and official support vehicles through as crews worked to clear debris, according to Xinhua.
Intermittent snow is expected in the earthquake region over the next three days, Xinhua said.
It was the biggest earthquake in the region in the last five years, China's national broadcaster CCTV said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 10.33 pm local time, with its epicentre 191 kilometres (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet. It put the earthquake's depth at 18 kilometres (11 miles).
Nagqu is more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Tibet's capital, Lhasa.
The Xizang Fire and Rescue Corps immediately mobilized 347 rescue personnel, 82 fire vehicles, and 15 search-and-rescue dogs, along with over 4,200 pieces of equipment and more than 9,400 items of logistical support supplies, to the quake zone.
Public security departments in Xizang also dispatched over 300 police officers to assist emergency rescue and relief operations. The police contingent will help evacuate residents to safe areas, assess structural damage to buildings, and ensure security in affected areas.
Xizang has activated a Level-II earthquake disaster emergency response, according to the regional emergency command center.
Maru Township, at the epicenter of the earthquake, is about 70 km from the county seat.
Lhawang Dagpo, deputy head of the township, said there had been reports of collapsed houses in Maru, and that rescue and relief operations were underway in villages across the township.
He added that the tremor was clearly felt at the township government office, where the walls of the office building sustained cracks.
Strong shaking was reported in the county seat of Baqen, where power was cut off, and telecommunications services were disrupted.
Tremors were also felt in other parts of Xizang, including Qamdo and Nyingchi.
The office of the State Council earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level-IV emergency response after the earthquake, sending a work team to the affected areas to guide emergency response and disaster relief work, according to the ministry.
A 4.3-magnitude aftershock was felt in Zadoi County in Qinghai Province, which borders Baqen County, on Thursday, according to CENC.
Strong tremors were felt in townships along the border between the two counties, with cracks appearing in some houses. No building collapses or casualties have been confirmed in these areas.
(With agency inputs from PTI & Reuters)
