A day after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, the toll has climbed to at least 126 dead, 188 injured, and over 3,600 homes reduced to rubble.

Battling sub-zero temperatures through the night, rescue teams combed through collapsed homes in search of survivors, while PLA troops, medical experts, and emergency supplies poured into the affected region.

At the epicenter of the devastation, roughly 4,200 meters above sea level, videos show soldiers pulling dust-covered survivors from collapsed homes, cradling frail children in oxygen masks, and working through the freezing night to unload winter tents from canvas-covered trucks.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the quake hit Dingri County in Shigatse, a remote area near the northern base camp of Mount Qomolangma, also widely known as Mount Everest, and the Nepal border, just after 9 a.m. Tuesday and at a depth of 10 kilometers. Authorities have recorded 32 aftershocks above magnitude 3.0 so far, and warned of the possibility of further tremors in the coming days.

As temperatures plunged to -16°C, survivors battled a brutal combination of freezing cold and thin air. Yeshi Rabden, a resident who had returned home to join relief efforts, spent the night in his car.

“It’s unbearably cold. Seeing the weary faces of children and the frailty of the elderly filled me with sorrow,” he told Sixth Tone. Tents were prioritized for the most vulnerable — elderly residents and young children — as volunteers worked to distribute supplies.

Despite the swift mobilization of aid, challenges still remain. Dechen Yudron, a member of one of the many rescue teams, emphasized that altitude sickness remains a persistent risk for relief personnel arriving from lower-altitude regions. Additional teams from across China are expected to arrive in the coming days, bringing further support to the devastated communities.

Nearly 90% of Dingri County, a crucial gateway to Mount Qomolangma’s northern base camp, is situated within the Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve. The quake’s tremors rippled through its high-altitude hotels and villages, prompting local authorities to temporarily shut down the Mount Qomolangma scenic area, a key hub for tourism in the region.

At a lodge near the base camp, Xu, a tourist battling altitude sickness, awoke to her bed shaking and lights flickering. Moments later, the tremors intensified.

“The lights were flickering and making loud banging noises, and then suddenly, everything went dark,” she told Sixth Tone, requesting to be identified only by her surname.

As the quake subsided, villagers urged Xu and other visitors to evacuate immediately. Along the road back to Lhasa, capital of the Xizang Autonomous Region, she passed fallen rocks scattered across mountain paths.

Ground zero

In the moments after the earthquake struck on Tuesday, Rabden drove back to his home in Bailang Village at breakneck speed, his car pushing 90 miles per hour along mountain roads.

When he reached Chulob Township, one of the hardest-hit areas near the epicenter, the devastation was staggering. “Almost every house was flattened, leaving nothing behind,” he said. “In some households, three or four family members had perished.”

After ensuring his family was safe, Rabden joined other young residents in the relief effort. Together, they made multiple trips between the government’s supply depot and isolated homes, distributing aid through the biting cold. “Many of us went all day without eating or drinking, working tirelessly,” he said. “This is simply what we ought to do.”

Communication with the outside world remained paralyzed for most of the day, with Rabden’s phone signal only restored by 6 p.m. on Tuesday. In the absence of reliable information, survivors relied on word-of-mouth updates to navigate the crisis.

Around 6,900 people live in 27 villages within a 20-kilometer radius of the epicenter, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. Dingri County, home to approximately 62,000 residents — 99.9% of whom are Tibetan — is the most populous border county in Xizang.

While Chulob Township bore the brunt of the devastation, the nearby Gyatso Township, located about 50 kilometers from the epicenter, experienced comparatively less severe damage.

However, many of its mud-brick houses — a common form of construction in the region — suffered cracks and structural damage. Relief staff reported that all 150 displaced residents in Gyatso had been relocated to open spaces in makeshift tents.

The devastation caused by Tuesday’s earthquake is a grim reminder of the region’s seismic vulnerability. In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal claimed over 9,000 lives, becoming the country’s deadliest quake on record. Dingri County, which borders Nepal to the south, was also severely affected, with 80% of homes damaged.

Following the 2015 disaster, the Shigatse region implemented emergency preparedness measures, including maintaining stockpiles of essential supplies. A local relief worker described the impact of these efforts: “The tents are cramped, but they’re capable of handling the first night.”

The region’s seismic instability stems from its location on the Lhasa block, an intensely active tectonic zone shaped by the collision between the Indian and Eurasian Plates. This collision creates north-south compression and east-west extension stress, making the area particularly prone to earthquakes, experts from the CENC told state broadcaster CCTV.

Since 1950, the Lhasa block has experienced 21 earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or higher. The most significant recent event was a 6.9-magnitude quake in Milin, east of Lhasa, in 2017, which occurred in a sparsely populated area and resulted in only three injuries.

Lu Ming, former deputy director of the Institute of Crustal Dynamics at the China Earthquake Administration, explained that at altitudes above 4,000 meters, trees are scarce, making timber difficult to obtain. As a result, locals often construct homes using adobe or mixed rubble, materials that are far less resilient to seismic activity and prone to collapse during strong earthquakes.

When the earthquake struck at 9:05 a.m. local time Tuesday, many residents were still asleep. In this region, local workdays typically start around 10 a.m. Beijing time, meaning most workplaces were yet to open, and winter farming activities had not begun.

This timing likely delayed the initial response, domestic media reported.

By 7 p.m. on Tuesday, more than 12,000 rescuers had been mobilized across Xizang for search and rescue operations. Teams had successfully rescued 407 people and set up 14 relocation centers, providing temporary shelter for over 30,400 displaced residents.

Relief efforts were bolstered by 100 million yuan ($14 million) allocated by the central government to support disaster relief and recovery. While Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “all-out” rescue efforts in the region, Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing led a team to the disaster zone, overseeing operations and coordinating aid distribution.

By 10 p.m. Tuesday, the first shipment of over 5,800 cotton tents, clothing, and other supplies had arrived in Dingri County, with an additional 16,000 items expected to arrive on Wednesday. Supplies include emergency food, heating equipment, and donations from enterprises and charities.

In addition to rescue and relief teams, over 340 medical workers have been deployed to the quake-hit areas, state media reported.

Editor: Apurva.

(Header image: A  ruined shop in Dingri County, Xizang Autonomous Region, January 2025. Courtesy of He Ru, the Deputy Director of Xizang Fokind Hospital)