The toll from Monday’s earthquake in China continues to grow. Firefighters and soldiers are still active on Tuesday to save lives after this powerful earthquake in the mountainous southwest of the country which has already killed 65 people.
Of magnitude 6.6, the earthquake hit Sichuan province on Monday, according to the United States Institute of Geological Studies (USGS), a world reference body for this type of natural phenomenon. The epicenter is in Luding Township, an area of valleys, rushing rivers and narrow roads, located on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, about 200 kilometers west of the provincial capital Chengdu.
many replicas
At least 10 aftershocks of magnitude equal to or greater than 3 have been recorded since the first earthquake, according to a latest tally made Tuesday morning by the Chinese Center for Seismic Networks (CENC).
China’s state-run television CCTV broadcast videos on Tuesday of firefighters in orange gear and police pulling a young woman covered in bruises from the rubble of a building, before transporting her on a stretcher to an ambulance. Other images showed wooden and concrete buildings, gutted or even partially collapsed or in unstable equilibrium.
Some roads, fallen into debris or fractured, have become impassable, forcing rescuers to cross some rivers using makeshift bridges or cables stretched from one bank to the other. The tremor also shook buildings in Chengdu, where the 21 million residents are currently confined to their homes due to an outbreak of Covid-19.
Thirty-seven people died in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze, where the epicenter is located, and 28 in neighboring Shimian Township, according to CCTV and the People’s Daily, newspaper of the ruling Communist Party. Nearly 250 injured and 12 missing are also listed. In addition, about 200 people are stuck, after the blocking of a road, in the Hailuo Valley, a natural area of glaciers and snow-capped peaks very touristy, located at more than 2,850 meters above sea level.
The rain could complicate the task of rescuers
The Chinese army, accustomed to earthquakes, has announced that it has already deployed 1,900 soldiers to participate in the search for the missing and rescue the population. State media broadcast images of residents temporarily relocated overnight in large blue tents and supplied with water and food by soldiers.
President Xi Jinping also called on Monday evening “to do everything to help those affected” and “to minimize the loss of life”. However, local weather services predict rain in the next few days in the epicenter area, which could complicate rescue operations.