A massive earthquake shook northwest China on Monday evening, killing at least 116 people. According to the state news agency Xinhua, the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2. Thousands of houses have been damaged. Due to a cold wave, there are freezing temperatures in large parts of China: many people affected had to stay outside in this weather.
The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred around midnight (local time), was in Jishishan province. The rescue work continued. About 400 people were injured, authorities said.
Damage to houses, roads, water and electricity supplies
According to authorities, more than 4,700 buildings were destroyed. Rescue and relief efforts are underway. The government declared a state of emergency. The number of missing persons is still unclear. Eyewitnesses reported that the earthquake caused damage to houses, roads and other infrastructure. There was a power outage in several villages and water supplies were interrupted. The railway authority has banned trains from passing through the earthquake zone.
About 2,200 rescue workers were sent to the disaster area, Xinhua reported. The army and police are also involved in the rescue work. Electricity supply was gradually restored in the earthquake zone after the power grid sent 18 emergency repair teams, state TV CCTV reported.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the Earth shook at a depth of ten kilometers at 11:59 PM (local time) on Monday. At least 105 people were killed in Jishishan county of Gansu province. Neighboring Qinghai province initially reported eleven deaths. Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping called for every effort to save people.
“We are still in shock,” a man from Jishishan told local news portal Jimu about two hours after the earthquake. He and his family ran down the stairs from their 16th floor apartment. Then they got to safety in the car. According to eyewitnesses, the earthquake was also felt in more distant cities such as Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu.
Minus 14 degrees Celsius in heavily affected area
The affected area is in a remote mountainous region 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 early on Tuesday (local time). Most of China is experiencing sub-zero temperatures as the country has been hit by a cold wave since last week.
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 earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, killing more than 80,000 people.
Source: Krone
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