An overnight earthquake killed at least 118 people in a cold, mountainous region in northwest China, provincial officials said Tuesday, in the country’s deadliest quake in 10 years.
Emergency authorities in Gansu province called for 300 additional workers to check collapsed buildings and conduct other search and rescue operations. Authorities in neighboring Qinghai reported 20 people missing due to a landslide, according to Chinese state media.
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake left more than 500 people injured, severely damaged homes and roads and cut power and communication lines, provincial officials and media reports said.
It occurred shortly before midnight Monday near the border between the two provinces at a relatively shallow depth of 10.6 miles, the China Seismic Network Center said.
The United States Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 5.9.
At least 118 people were killed in a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in a cold, mountainous region of northwest China. Via REUTERS
By mid-morning, 105 people had been confirmed dead in Gansu and another 397 injured, including 16 in critical condition, a provincial emergency department official said at a news conference.
Thirteen other people were killed and 182 injured in Qinghai, in an area north of the epicenter, a local Communist Party official said at a separate news conference.
The earthquake was felt across much of the surrounding area, including Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu, about 60 kilometers northeast of the epicenter.
The earthquake left more than 300 people injured, damaged homes and roads, and cut power and communication lines. Via REUTERS
Photos and videos posted by a Lanzhou University student showed students rushing out of a dormitory building and standing outside wearing long jackets over their pajamas.
“The earthquake was too intense,” said Wang Xi, the student who posted the images. “My legs became weak, especially when we ran down the stairs from the bedroom.”
The death toll was the highest since the April 2013 earthquake that killed 196 people in southwest China’s Sichuan province.
Rescue teams carry out search and rescue operations in Kangdiao village following the earthquake in Jishishan county. Via REUTERS
The country’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a magnitude 7.9 quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people and devastated cities and schools in Sichuan, leading to a years-long effort to rebuild with stronger materials.
The latest earthquake occurred in Gansu’s Jishishan county, about 5 kilometers from the provincial border with Qinghai. The epicenter was about 800 miles southwest of Beijing, the Chinese capital.
There were nine aftershocks by 10 a.m., about 10 hours after the initial quake, the largest registering a magnitude of 4.1, a Gansu official said.
The earthquake occurred in Gansu’s Jishishan county, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the provincial border with Qinghai. AP/Chinatopix
The remote and mountainous area is home to several predominantly Muslim ethnic groups and close to some Tibetan communities.
Geographically, it is located in central China, although the area is commonly known as the northwest, as it is located on the northwest edge of China’s most populated plains.
Tents, folding beds and quilts were sent to the disaster area, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The earthquake was felt in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of the epicenter. AP
It cited Chinese leader Xi Jinping calling for an all-out search and rescue effort to minimize casualties.
The overnight minimum temperature in the area was -5 to 16 degrees, the China Meteorological Administration said.
The Beijing Youth Daily, a Communist Party newspaper, quoted an unnamed rescue coordinator as saying that generators, long coats and fuel for stoves, among other items, were needed.
A person injured in an earthquake is rushed to a hospital in Minhe Hui. Xinhua/Shutterstock
The coordinator recommended sending halal food due to the ethnic composition of the affected population.
At least 4,000 firefighters, soldiers and police were sent to rescue efforts, and the People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theater set up a command post to direct their work.
Han Shujun, spokesman for the Gansu provincial emergency management department, asked people to avoid going to earthquake-affected areas to avoid traffic jams that could hamper rescue and relief efforts.
College students in Lanzhou ran out of their dormitories, according to a social media post that had images showing young people rushing out of a building and standing outside. AP
A video released by the Ministry of Emergency Management showed emergency workers in orange uniforms using rods to try to move heavy chunks of what looked like concrete debris at night.
Other late-night videos distributed by state media showed workers lifting a victim and helping a slightly stumbling person walk in an area covered in light snow.
High school student Ma Shijun ran out of his dormitory barefoot and without even putting on a coat, according to a Xinhua report. He said the strong tremors left his hands a little numb and teachers quickly organized students on the playground.
Students gather outdoors after being evacuated from their dormitories. AP
CCTV reported that there was damage to water and electricity lines, as well as transportation and communications infrastructure.
Earthquakes are somewhat common in the mountainous area of western China that rises to form the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
In September last year, 93 people were killed in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southwestern China’s Sichuan province, triggering landslides and shaking buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, where 21 million Residents were under confinement due to COVID-19.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn