A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck China's Tibet autonomous region, which Beijing officially calls the Xizang autonomous region, on Thursday, as the US Geological Survey (USGS) warned of potentially widespread damage.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), about 183 kilometers (114 miles) from the city of Nagqu city in the northern part of the region, at 10.33 pm local time (1433GMT).
The USGS issued a yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities, indicating that some casualties are possible.
It also issued an orange alert for economic losses, indicating that significant damage is likely and the impact could be widespread.
"Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of China. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response," it said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The USGS said that the population in this region usually resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking.
Chinese authorities activated a Level-II emergency response, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
A a Level II emergency response is initiated when an initially assessed serious earthquake disaster or an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 or higher but below 7.0 occurs in a key area.
The Tibet region was hit by devastating flash floods triggered by an ice and rock avalanche on Nepal's Mount Langtang Lirung in August.
Nearly 1,500 people were killed on both sides, while thousands remain missing.
On the Chinese side, the death toll remains at 43, with 519 missing, including 261 foreigners in Tibet.