Strong tremor of magnitude 7 strikes China’s Tibet

• USGS reported the shallow tremor occurred at a depth of 10 km, ~183 km from Nagqu city.
• The USGS issued a yellow alert for fatalities and an orange alert for economic losses, warning of likely significant damage.
• China activated a Level-II emergency response, while initial reports noted no immediate casualties or damage.

A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck China's Tibet Autonomous Region -officially named the Xizang Autonomous Region by Beijing- on Thursday evening.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) warned that the disaster could result in widespread damage.

The earthquake struck at 10:33 p.m. local time (1433 GMT) at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

The epicenter was situated approximately 183 kilometers (114 miles) from Nagqu city in the northern part of the region.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or structural damage following the quake.

Following the tremor, the USGS issued a yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities, indicating that casualties are possible.

It simultaneously issued an orange alert for economic losses, warning that significant damage is likely and the impact could be widespread.

"Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of China," the USGS stated in its assessment. "Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response."

The agency noted that the local population in this region typically resides in structures that are vulnerable to strong earthquake shaking.

In response to the seismic event, Chinese authorities activated a Level-II emergency response, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Under national protocols, a Level-II emergency response is initiated when an initially assessed serious earthquake disaster or a quake with a magnitude between 6.5 and 7.0 occurs in a key area.