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The quake of magnitude 6.2 hit Gansu and Qinghai provinces on Monday, where the temperatures have dropped to -16C
KANGDIAO,China:A devastating earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hit Jishishan County, China, near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, killing 134 people and injuring about 1,000, according to state media. Rescue teams are braving the cold weather, as low as -16C, to find survivors in the mountainous area in northwest China.
The quake also damaged more than 150,000 homes and caused mudslides, power outages, and other infrastructure problems. About 4,400 personnel, including firefighters, police, soldiers, and medics, are involved in the relief efforts.
Many residents are too scared to go back to their homes and are keeping warm around bonfires.
Li Haibing, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, said that the high death toll was partly due to the shallow depth of the earthquake. “It caused more shaking and destruction, even though the magnitude was not large,” he said.
He also cited other factors, such as the vertical motion of the quake, the poor quality of buildings, and the timing of the quake at night when most people were at home.
The quake affected 22 towns and villages in a remote and mountainous region, where several Muslim ethnic groups and some Tibetan communities live. Two villages near the epicenter were the most severely hit.
The Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau said strong aftershocks of magnitude 5 were still possible around the area in the coming days, based on the characteristics of the Monday quake, historical seismic activity and other factors.
