Rescuers are trying to find survivors in the rubble on Tuesday after a powerful earthquake overnight which killed at least 118 people in northwest China, the deadliest in nearly ten years in the country.
The earthquake occurred about 1,300 km southwest of Beijing, in Gansu province, and near the border with Qinghai province.
At least 105 people were killed and nearly 400 injured in Gansu province after the violent earthquake, according to a report established Tuesday morning by local authorities.
The disaster also left 13 dead and 182 injured, with 20 people missing, in the city of Haidong, in the neighboring province of Qinghai, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The earthquake damaged thousands of homes, many of them dilapidated brick-built structures, and sent residents running into the cold for shelter.
“I almost died of fear. Look how my hands and legs are trembling,” says a woman in her thirties in a video posted on social networks by the People’s Daily.
“As I was running out of the house, a section of the mountain collapsed and crashed onto the roof,” she added, sitting outside, swaddled in a blanket and holding a baby. in her arms.
CCTV footage showed a family’s belongings scattered among the debris of a collapsed house.
In Haidong, vehicles were transporting supplies and workers were repairing road barriers, noted an AFP team on site.
Worst record since 2014
This is the worst death toll after an earthquake in China since at least 2014, when more than 600 people died in the province of Yunnan (Southwest).
China is regularly the scene of earthquakes, sometimes very deadly: in 2008, a huge tremor in the province of Sichuan left more than 87,000 people dead or missing, including 5,335 schoolchildren.
The New China news agency said the tremor overnight from Monday to Tuesday was of magnitude 6.2 and was felt as far away as the large city of Xi’an, located about 570 kilometers from the epicenter.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured a magnitude of 5.9.
The earthquake was followed by several dozen other tremors, with authorities warning that new earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5 were to be feared in the coming days.
Another tremor, of magnitude 5.2 according to USGS, was detected Monday morning in the province of Xinjiang which borders Gansu to the west.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “all possible efforts” to be made in search and rescue operations, which began early Tuesday, and to ensure the safety of survivors and their properties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, an ally of Beijing, offered his “deep” condolences to Mr. Xi, saying on behalf of Russia that he shared “the pain of those who lost their loved ones in this disaster.”
Freezing temperatures
The strong Gansu earthquake also caused significant damage. Local authorities said at a news conference Tuesday morning that nearly 5,000 homes had been damaged in the province.
Water and electricity supplies were disrupted to villages around the epicenter, with state media saying electricity was later partially restored.
ADVERTISEMENTTemperatures have dropped well below freezing in northern China. Footage from one of the worst-hit areas broadcast on CCTV showed residents warming themselves near a fire while emergency services set up tents.
More than 1,400 firefighters and rescue workers were dispatched to the disaster area and more than 1,600 were on standby, according to CCTV.
The channel said drinking water, blankets, heating stoves and instant noodles had also been sent to the region.
She added that the central government had already allocated 200 million yuan (26 million euros) in emergency aid to “guarantee the safety of people and property, and minimize the impact of losses due to the disaster.” “.
Hundreds of people in Gansu have been evacuated, according to authorities.
ADVERTISEMENTLast August, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake in eastern China injured 23 people and destroyed dozens of buildings.
In September 2022, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province caused the death of nearly 100 people.
