Complicating rescue efforts, the disaster area is situated in a high-altitude region experiencing freezing temperature...
Digital Desk: As many as 111 people were killed and more than 230 injured after an earthquake hit the Gansu-Qinghai border region in China on Tuesday, according to reports by state media.
The quake's epicentre, located 102 km west-southwest of Gansu's provincial capital city, Lanzhou, resulted in widespread devastation. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a depth of 35 km, while Chinese state media presented conflicting information on the magnitude. The tremors were felt intensely in many parts of Qinghai Province, just 5 km from the border between the affected provinces.
As authorities grapple with the aftermath, the Xinhua news agency revealed that China's National Commission for disaster prevention, reduction, and relief, along with the Ministry of Emergency Management, has activated a level-IV disaster relief emergency.
Complicating rescue efforts, the disaster area is situated in a high-altitude region experiencing freezing temperatures, with Linxia, Gansu, recording approximately minus 14 degrees Celsius. The cold wave sweeping through China adds complexity to the relief operations, with rescue teams working tirelessly to prevent secondary disasters.
While some damage has been reported to water, electricity, transportation, and communication infrastructure, officials have yet to provide specific details. A working group has been dispatched to assess the disaster's impact and guide local relief operations.
Preliminary analysis by state television CCTV indicates that the earthquake was a thrust-type rupture, an uncommon occurrence with only three such incidents above magnitude 6 within 200 km of the epicenter since 1900. The region experienced nine significant aftershocks, registering at magnitude 3.0 and above, before dawn on Tuesday.
As the affected communities grapple with the immediate aftermath, the nation mourns the lives lost and rallies support for ongoing rescue and relief efforts in the face of this tragic natural disaster.
