At least 118 dead in earthquake in China
The rubble of a house destroyed by a severe earthquake in Jishishan, Gansu Province
Source: AP
A severe earthquake shook northwest China. At least 118 people died and more than 200 were injured. While rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble, people have to wait outside in freezing temperatures.
bA severe earthquake in northwest China has killed at least 116 people. As the state news agency Xinhua reported, 500 injuries were initially reported after the magnitude 6.2 quake late on Monday evening. The number of missing people is still unclear.
At least 105 people were killed in Jishishan County in Gansu Province. The neighboring province of Qinghai initially reported 13 deaths. China’s state and party leader Xi Jinping called for everything to be done to save people.
Rescue workers are searching for survivors near the city of Linxia
Source: AP/Ma Xiping
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the earthquake caused damage to houses, roads and other infrastructure. There was a power outage in several villages and the water supply was interrupted.
According to Xinhua, around 2,200 rescue workers have been sent to the disaster area. The military and police are also involved in the rescue work. Power was gradually restored in the earthquake zone after the state power grid dispatched 18 emergency repair teams, state television CCTV reported.
Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble
The affected area is located in a remote mountainous region in Jishishan County, northwestern Gansu Province, on the eastern edge of the tectonically active Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The temperature in Linxia, near where the earthquake occurred, was around minus 14 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning (local time). Rescue work focused on preventing secondary disasters caused by factors other than the quake, Xinhua reported. Most of China is battling freezing temperatures as a cold snap has hit the country since last week.
Chinese state media showed photos of people fleeing their homes after the quake and staying outside wrapped in blankets in wintry temperatures. Rescue workers searched for survivors in the rubble. Unconfirmed footage on social media shows the earthquake’s destructiveness.
“We are still in shock,” a man from Jishishan told local news portal Jimu about two hours after the quake. He and his family ran down the stairs from their apartment on the 16th floor. Then they got to safety in the car. According to eyewitnesses, the quake was also felt in more distant cities such as Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the quake occurred on Monday at 11:59 p.m. (local time) at a depth of ten kilometers.
The last major earthquake in China with many deaths occurred last year, when more than 60 people died in the southwest of the country. In 2008, Sichuan Province was hit by a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 80,000 people.