The death toll from the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that shook parts of Gansu and Qinghai provinces in northwest China on Monday night rose to 116, state media reported.
The earthquake, which occurred in a remote and cold region of the country, with temperatures reaching 15 degrees below zero, left more than 500 people injured, damaged homes and roads, and interrupted electricity supply and telecommunications.
State television CCTV reported that 105 people had died in Gansu province and another 11 in neighboring Qinghai province. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) shortly before midnight on Monday.
The earthquake hit Jishishan village in Gansu, about 5 kilometers from Qinghai. The epicenter occurred about 1,300 kilometers southwest of Beijing, China’s capital.
According to local press, rescue operations are ongoing.
More than 300 people were treated for injuries early in the morning, according to state television CCTV. At least 140 people were injured in Qinghai and another 397 in Gansu, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey assigned the earthquake’s magnitude to 5.9.
CCTV reported that there were disruptions to water and electricity supplies, as well as transportation and communications infrastructure.
The earthquake was felt in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, about 100 kilometers northeast of the epicenter.
Students at Lanzhou University hastily left their dormitories and remained outside, according to posts on social media.
Many were wearing only pajamas on a cold winter night, said Wang Xi, a student at Lanzhou University who shared the images.
“The earthquake was too intense,” he described. “My legs felt weak, especially when we ran down the stairs to the bedroom.”
According to CCTV, tents, folding beds and duvets were sent to the region. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort in rescue efforts to minimize the number of victims.
The nighttime minimum temperature in the region was between -15 and -9 degrees Celsius, the China Meteorological Administration said.
A video released by the Ministry of Emergency Management showed workers in orange uniforms using poles to try to move heavy chunks of concrete overnight. Other videos released by the press show workers lifting a victim and helping a slightly staggering person walk in a snow-covered area.
High school student Ma Shijun ran out of his dormitory, barefoot and not even wearing a coat, he told Xinhua. The strong tremors left their hands numb and the teachers quickly organized the students on the playground.
Earthquakes are common in northwest China, a mountainous region that rises to form the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
In September last year, at least 74 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 Chengdu, where they live. 21 million inhabitants who were confined due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a magnitude 7.9 quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan. The earthquake devastated cities, schools and rural communities on the outskirts of Chengdu, prompting a years-long rebuilding effort with stronger materials.
Source: TSF
