At least 127 dead in earthquake in northwest China
The state news agency Xinhua reported that the 6.2-magnitude quake destroyed more than 155,000 homes. People ran into the streets to get to safety. The power and water supply was interrupted in several villages in the region.
The US earthquake observatory USGS initially gave the magnitude of the quake as 6.0 and later as 5.9. The epicenter was around 100 kilometers southwest of Gansu's provincial capital Lanzhou and around 1300 kilometers southwest of the capital Beijing. The tremors were felt as far away as Xi'an, a city of over 500 kilometers.
During the night, rescue workers searched the rubble of collapsed houses with flashlights, as can be seen on videos. The quake shortly before midnight was followed by dozens of smaller aftershocks. The authorities warned that further tremors with a magnitude of more than 5.0 were possible in the coming days. On Tuesday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 was measured further northwest in the Xinjiang region, according to USGS data.
In a village near the epicenter, reporters from the AFP news agency saw large cracks in the exterior and interior walls of a brick house and a collapsed roof. "I am 70 years old and have never experienced such a strong quake in my life," said resident Ma Wenchang. She could no longer live in her house "because it is too dangerous."
"I was scared to death," said one woman in a video published by the newspaper "People's Daily" on online networks. "Look how my hands and legs are shaking." Masses of earth from a mountain had fallen onto the roof of her house - shortly after she had run out of the building.
According to a report by state broadcaster CCTV, more than 1,400 rescue workers were dispatched to the earthquake region, with a further 1,600 on standby. According to the report, 2500 tents and 5000 emergency beds as well as drinking water, blankets, stoves and instant noodles were brought to Gansu. The government in Beijing had initially provided 200 million yuan (around 25 million euros) in aid to "minimize the impact of the disaster".
Video footage from one of the worst-affected places showed residents warming themselves by a fire on the street while the rescue services set up tents. The tents had to be set up quickly "as temperatures will drop to minus 17 degrees tonight," a volunteer told AFP.
China's head of state Xi Jinping called for everything to be done to help the people. The president also warned of the freezing temperatures in the high-altitude region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his "deep" condolences to China. "In Russia, we share the pain of those who lost their loved ones in the disaster and hope for the speedy recovery of all those injured," Putin said in a message to Xi, according to the Kremlin.
The quake was the deadliest in China since 2014, when more than 600 people died in the southwestern province of Yunnan. China is repeatedly shaken by earthquakes, some of which are devastating. In 2008, a 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan province killed more than 87,000 people. In September 2022, almost a hundred people were killed in an earthquake, also in Sichuan.
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- Despite the Dead in China due to the earthquake, China's head of state Xi Jinping called for assistance to help the affected people.
- The US earthquake station USGS initially reported a magnitude of 6.0 for the earthquake in Qinghai, but later revised it to 5.9.
- The earthquake's epicenter was approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Gansu's provincial capital Lanzhou and around 1300 kilometers southwest of Beijing, China.
- Rescue workers in China's Northwest, with flashlights, searched the rubble of collapsed houses in the aftermath of the earthquake.
- The quake in Xinjiang, according to USGS data, was followed by another earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 further northwest in China.
- With temperatures expected to drop to minus 17 degrees, residents in one of the worst-affected places warmed themselves by a fire on the street.
- In the region affected by the earthquake, at least 127 people have died, as reported by Xinhua, the state news agency of China.
- The power and water supply was interrupted in several villages in the region, including Qinghai, following the earthquake.
- The US and Chinese governments have dispatched rescue workers and aid to the earthquake-stricken region in China's northwest, with Beijing providing 200 million yuan (around 25 million euros) in aid.
Source: www.stern.de
