Residents of Toronto's Tibetan community are feeling the after-effects of a devastating earthquake that struck their homeland Wednesday.

Nearly 600 are dead and 10,000 injured after several quakes struck China's western Qinghai province in a remote and mountainous region populated by many Tibetans.

Tenzin Dakpa, a Buddhist monk who lives in Toronto, surfs the internet looking for news about the earthquake in China, which struck near his family home. (CBC)

The first quake hit Qinghai's Yushu county early Wednesday morning, forcing people into the streets. The 6.9-magnitude quake was the largest of six tremors recorded in the area in just three hours, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The region is a world away from Toronto, but news of the quake has sent shockwaves through the city's small, close-knit Tibetan community.

After hearing news of the quake, Toronto resident Tenzin Dakpa, a local monk at Karma Sonam Dargye Ling temple on Vaughn Road, scoured the internet, trying to call home for any bit of news about relatives. His worst fears were confirmed Wednesday when he learned his family's home had been destroyed and that two relatives, including younger brother Paljor, 26, and a young niece died in the rubble.

"We were looking at each other laughing and talking," said Dakpa about a discussion the two had over the internet only a day before. "And today I was explaining he is somebody who passed away and it's hard to believe."

Toronto's Tibetan community numbers about 6,000, most reside in the city's west-end neighbourhood of Parkdale.

'It's not fair what happened to them'

Few have direct relations to the people in the devastated zone. But there's a collective identity forged in the struggle for independence from China. And now a collective empathy.

"They're already having a problem there with losing our country," said restaurant owner Tenzin Valunbisitsang, owner of the family-run Parkdale restaurant Le Tibet.

"They don't have human rights and on top of that they have another issue, like this earthquake."

Many in the community are concerned their relatives in Tibet will face more discrimination from Chinese authorities as a result of Wednesday's earthquake.

For Dakpa too, that worry weighs heavily, so does his sense of loss. As a monk, he is trained to embrace the transience of life. But on this day, he says he's struggling to find the comfort in that.

"I'm completely shocked," said Dakpa. "Not only for my family. All the people who didn't die. Now they have nothing. It's difficult to accept right away."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement late Wednesday, extending Canada's condolences for the loss of life as a result of the quake.

"On behalf of the government and people of Canada, I express my deepest condolences to the people of China at this difficult time," said Harper. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones and with those who are still missing."

"Canada stands ready to provide support to the people of China during this time of need. Our officials in Beijing are contacting appropriate Chinese authorities to determine whether Canadian assistance may be required."

With files from the CBC's Ioanna Roumeliotis