Earthquake China today - M7.0 in Tibet, October 22, 2026

What we know

Both the US Geological Survey and the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) put the magnitude at 7.0. The quake struck on October 22, 2026 at 14:33 UTC, late in the evening local time.

CENC placed the epicenter in Baqen County, Nagqu (32.40° N, 93.79° E). That is about 190 km east of Nagqu city and roughly 400 km northeast of Lhasa, in sparsely populated high country near the border with Qinghai province.

A shallow quake

CENC reports a depth of 10 km, the USGS 18 km. Shallow quakes of this size shake the ground hard near the epicenter. The USGS estimates that around 46,000 people felt strong or stronger shaking, and many homes in the area are built from adobe and unreinforced brick, which is vulnerable in earthquakes.

PAGER shows a yellow alert for fatalities and an orange alert for economic losses. On Thursday evening there was still no official confirmation of casualties. Being far inland, the quake posed no tsunami risk.

What next

Aftershocks are common for days after a quake this strong. You can follow new quakes in China and worldwide on our live map.

FAQ

What time was the Tibet earthquake in the US and UK?

The quake hit at 14:33 UTC on Thursday, October 22, 2026. That was 10:33 am EDT in New York, 7:33 am PDT in Los Angeles and 3:33 pm BST in London. In Tibet, which runs on Beijing time, it was 10:33 pm.

Were there casualties in the Tibet earthquake?

In the first hours there were no official reports of deaths or major damage. The USGS PAGER system issued a yellow alert for fatalities and an orange alert for economic losses, which means casualties are possible. The China Earthquake Administration launched a Level-II emergency response and is assessing the area.

Why does Tibet have strong earthquakes?

The Indian plate keeps pushing north into Eurasia, raising the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. That stress is released in shallow quakes across the region. In January 2025, an M7.1 quake in Tingri County in southern Tibet killed at least 126 people.