
Powerful earthquake in China’s Tibet region collapses hundreds of homes and kills at least 16 people
By Katherine Langford
WPLG Local 10
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BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers combed through a remote area in the Chinese region of Tibet on Friday after a magnitude 7 earthquake that killed at least 16 people, injuring 54 and collapsing hundreds of homes, according to Chinese state media.The disaster struck Nagqu, a city north of Tibet’s capital Lhasa that's some 4,800 meters (5,249 yards) above sea level, on Thursday. At least 339 homes collapsed, and officials told journalists they were concerned about further building collapses from aftershocks, as well as casualties from rockslides.Search and rescue efforts are complicated by the geography and low temperatures, officials said. As of Friday afternoon, rescuers had done three rounds of searches, going through each household, and each village, said Dunzhu, the acting mayor of Nagqu city, said in a press conference.More than 5,000 people from three local counties were deployed for rescue efforts. Supplies including 2,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,400 tents and 2,000 folding b