Strength 6.2 - Violent earthquake in China - at least 118 people killed
At least 118 people have died in a severe earthquake in northwest China. According to the state news agency Xinhua, over 500 people were also reported injured following the 6.2-magnitude quake late on Monday evening. At least 105 people were killed in Jishishan County in Gansu Province. The neighboring province of Qinghai reported 13 deaths. China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping called for everything to be done to save people.
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the earthquake had caused damage to roads and other infrastructure. There was also damage to over 6000 houses in Jishishan. Several villages lost power and the water supply was interrupted.
According to the local weather authority, the lowest temperature in Jishishan is expected to reach minus 10 degrees on Tuesday. The provincial fire and rescue department sent helpers to the region. The railroad authority suspended the passage of trains through the earthquake zone.
Earthquake in China: "We are still in shock"
Chinese state media showed photos of people fleeing their homes after the quake and staying outside wrapped in blankets in wintry temperatures. State television showed rescue workers searching for survivors in the rubble.
"We are still in shock," a man from Jishishan told the local news portal Jimu around two hours after the quake. He and his family had run down the stairs from their apartment on the 16th floor. They then fled to safety by car.
According to eyewitnesses, the quake was also felt in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu. Videos were shared on social media of students in Lanzhou rushing out of their rooms during the night and running to safety.
Earthquakes are a regular occurrence in the mountainous regions of western China. However, they often hit very sparsely populated regions.
The last severe earthquake in China with many fatalities occurred last year, when more than 70 people died in the southwest of the country. In 2014, around 600 people died in a quake in Yunnan province. In 2008, the province of Sichuan was shaken by a severe earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9, which killed more than 80,000 people.
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Source: www.stern.de
