In a tragic event, the deadliest earthquake in China in 13 years struck the mountainous Gansu province around midnight on Monday (16:00 GMT), resulting in the loss of at least 118 lives.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.2, also affected the neighboring Qinghai province.
The toll is expected to increase as reports indicate hundreds of individuals have been injured, facing additional challenges in icy conditions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken swift action, directing thousands of rescue personnel to the region. Gansu is noted for being one of the poorest and most diverse provinces in China.
Images broadcasted on state TV and circulated on social media platforms on Tuesday revealed the extensive damage caused by the quake.
Entire villages were seen split, and buildings and houses lay in ruins. The harsh conditions were further exacerbated as residents, who had evacuated their homes, sought shelter in makeshift camps, braving the frigid temperatures that reached -13°C (8.7°F) on Tuesday, as reported by Chinese media.
Survivors said the tremors had felt like “being tossed by surging waves”, and recalled rushing out of their apartments.
“I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath,” said one man named Mr Qin by Chinese outlets.
Jishishan county, located in Gansu province and severely impacted by the recent earthquake, has reported extensive damage, with more than 5,000 buildings in the region suffering destruction, according to local officials.
Chinese media quoted a director from the Gansu rescue team who attributed the widespread damage to the poor quality of buildings in the affected villages, many of which were old structures made of clay. Gansu, situated between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and bordering Mongolia, is a remote region marked by its status as one of China’s poorest and most ethnically diverse areas.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, a region home to various Chinese Muslim groups, including the Hui, Bonan, Dongxiang, and Salar people. Chinese authorities reported a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale, while the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude of 5.9 with a depth of 10km (6 miles). Local authorities noted approximately 10 aftershocks following the initial quake.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, Xinjiang, the province west of Gansu, experienced a 5.5 magnitude earthquake, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Throughout the affected area, the recent earthquake has led to significant disruptions in power and water supplies, posing challenges to ongoing rescue efforts. Officials stress the urgency of the situation, citing limited time to rescue individuals in the harsh sub-zero conditions.
President Xi Jinping has issued a directive emphasizing the imperative to deploy all available resources for search and rescue operations, provide prompt medical attention to the injured, and minimize casualties.
China’s geographical location, where multiple tectonic plates, including the Eurasian, Indian, and Pacific plates, converge, makes it particularly susceptible to seismic activity. Last September, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in the southwestern Sichuan province resulted in the loss of over 60 lives.
The recent earthquake in Gansu marks the deadliest in China since the devastating 2010 quake in Yushu, Qinghai province, which claimed nearly 2,700 lives.