A devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9, followed by a subsequent quake measuring 6.2, has claimed the lives of at least 116 individuals and caused severe injuries to 220 people in China’s northwest region.
Emergency crews in Gansu province are tirelessly working to clear the debris in freezing conditions, as state media reported on Tuesday.
In Gansu, 105 people perished and nearly 400 were injured due to the powerful tremor that struck around midnight.
Additionally, the neighboring province of Qinghai, specifically the city of Haidong, reported 11 fatalities and 100 injuries from the quake.
Numerous buildings collapsed, forcing residents to flee to the streets for safety.
In a viral video, a woman in her mid-30s, swaddled in a blanket and cradling a baby, expressed her fear, saying, “I was almost scared to death.
Look at how my hands and legs are shaking… As soon as I ran out of the house, the earth on the mountain gave way.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged “all-out efforts” in the ongoing search and rescue operations.
With temperatures dropping below freezing in the high-altitude area, a rescue mission is underway to prevent secondary disasters.
The epicenter of the initial 5.9 magnitude quake is approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Gansu province’s capital, Lanzhou.
The second quake, registering 6.2, was felt in the major city of Xi’an in northern Shaanxi province, about 570 kilometers away.
Following the initial earthquake, several smaller aftershocks occurred, and officials cautioned that tremors with a magnitude exceeding 5.0 were likely in the coming days.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in China, with a recent incident in August where a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake in eastern China injured 23 people and caused the collapse of several structures. In September of the previous year, 100 people lost their lives when a 6.6-magnitude quake struck Sichuan province.
