At least 116 individuals have lost their lives, and approximately 400 others have sustained injuries in a recent earthquake that hit the north-western provinces of Gansu and Qinghai in China, according to state media reports.
The powerful and shallow earthquake occurred just before midnight on Monday, prompting residents to rush outside into freezing temperatures.
Thousands of homes have been reported as damaged, and public infrastructure has also suffered varying degrees of damage, according to state media.
Xinhua, the official state media agency, stated that 100 casualties occurred in Gansu province, with an additional 11 reported in the city of Haidong in Qinghai province.
Gansu authorities later revised the death toll to 105, with 397 reported injuries.
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has called for “all-out efforts” in the ongoing search and rescue operations.
Videos from the scene depict rescuers working in the dark with torches, assisting individuals trapped in collapsed buildings.
Another video captured a college campus evacuation, with hundreds of students congregating in sports fields.
Despite the tragic circumstances, one resident expressed on Weibo, “Human beings are insignificant in the face of natural disasters.”
The resident recounted being at the earthquake’s epicenter, unable to escape the shaking house in freezing temperatures.
Although they eventually returned home, neighboring villages, with older houses, faced a “very serious” situation.
Chinese authorities recorded the quake at a magnitude of 6.2, while the US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported it as 5.9.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km, approximately 100km southwest of the provincial capital, Lanzhou, in Gansu province.
The affected area, part of a cold wave sweeping through China, experienced temperatures as low as -14°C on Tuesday morning.
Aftershocks continued on Tuesday, with several measuring between 3.0 and 4.5.
Additionally, a separate 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck Xinjiang province in the northwest on the same day.
Earthquakes are relatively common in the mountainous western regions of China, forming the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.
In August, a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern China, causing injuries and building collapses.
China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years occurred in 2008, with a magnitude of 7.9, claiming nearly 90,000 lives in Sichuan and prompting extensive rebuilding efforts with more resilient materials.
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Deadly Earthquake Strikes Northwest China, Leaving Over 100 Dead, Deadly Earthquake Strikes Northwest China, Leaving Over 100 Dead
