Sixteen people were killed and 54 others injured after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Baqen County of Nagqu City in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region at 10:33 p.m. Thursday.

The regional disaster prevention, reduction and relief committee activated a Level III emergency response for natural disaster relief on Friday. The State Council earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management also upgraded the national earthquake emergency response from Level IV to Level III.

As of 7 a.m. Friday, 11 of the injured were in serious condition, while 43 sustained minor injuries. More than 330 houses collapsed or were damaged.

The damage caused by the quake is being further evaluated, and disaster relief work is underway. More than 12,000 residents have been evacuated, according to the city's earthquake relief headquarters.

Quake relief supplies allocated by the authorities at various levels have been arriving at the quake-hit zone as of early Friday morning, including 1,000 sets of prefabricated houses, more than 3,200 tents, over 2,800 folding beds, and other daily necessities like quilts, stoves and clothes.

The area surrounding the epicenter has an average altitude of more than 4,800 meters. The temperatures there will be as low as minus nine degrees Celsius in the next three days, with intermittent snow expected Saturday in the three townships near the epicenter, according to local weather forecast authorities.