More than 110 lives were tragically lost to a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Gansu province in northwest China near the border with Qinghai province on Monday night. The ensuing search for survivors buried under debris is ongoing.
The state news agency Xinhua reported significant material damage, including collapsed houses, prompting many residents to flee into the streets.
Authorities dispatched relief teams to the area immediately after the earthquake occurred, Xinhua confirmed, and rescue operations commenced on Tuesday at dawn. The exact number of injuries and missing persons remains unknown at this time.
The agency added that the earthquake led to disruptions in water and electricity supplies in some villages. The Chinese government has activated a level-four emergency response.
New : 111 people have been killed and more than 200 have been injured after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit China’s #Gansu and #Qinghai provinces.#Earthquake #ChinaEarthquake pic.twitter.com/0UVibOR5hN
— Anand Panna (@AnandPanna1) December 19, 2023
The earthquake, with a shallow depth of around 10 kilometers, struck approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, followed by several aftershocks, according to the US Geological Survey.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, however, estimated the quake’s magnitude at 6.1 and said it took place at a depth of 35 kilometers.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in China; a 5.4 magnitude earthquake in the east of the country in August caused injuries to 23 people and destroyed dozens of buildings. Similarly, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in southwest China resulted in the death of 100 people in September 2022.
And in 2008, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province, claiming the lives of 87,000 people, including 5,335 students, killed or missing.
