China: Over 120 Lives Lost in Gansu Earthquake

China: Over 120 Lives Lost in Gansu Earthquake

• A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Gansu province in northwest China.
• President Xi Jinping has mobilized rescue crews to the region.
• The aftermath of the earthquake has disrupted power and water supplies.

A devastating 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous Gansu province in northwest China around midnight on Monday, also affecting the neighboring Qinghai region. The icy conditions have already left more than 700 people injured, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has mobilized thousands of rescue crews to the impoverished and culturally diverse region. This earthquake marks the deadliest in China since 2014 when a quake in Yunnan province claimed over 600 lives.

Heartbreaking scenes of entire villages split apart, collapsed buildings, and houses filled social media and state TV on Tuesday. Those who fled their homes were seen huddled around makeshift fires at hastily set-up evacuation camps in freezing temperatures as low as -13°C (8.7°F).

Survivors recounted the terrifying experience, describing the tremors as feeling like “being tossed by surging waves,” prompting a rush to evacuate their homes.

“I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath,” said one man named Mr Qin by Chinese outlets.

“In Jishishan County, the hardest-hit area in Gansu province, over 5,000 buildings have been damaged, and numerous structures across the province have been impacted by mudslides and landslides triggered by the earthquake. Chinese media reports attribute the extensive damage to poor building quality in the villages, where many homes are old and made of clay.

Gansu, situated between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and bordering Mongolia, is a remote region known for its status as one of China’s poorest and most ethnically diverse areas.

The quake’s epicenter was in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, 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). Several aftershocks, approximately 10, have been reported.

In the west of Gansu, a 5.5 magnitude quake was recorded on Tuesday, with no immediate reports of casualties.

The aftermath of the earthquake has disrupted power and water supplies across the region, impeding rescue efforts. With sub-zero temperatures, rescue teams face challenging conditions. Wang Yi, chief commander of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, China’s largest non-governmental humanitarian organization, highlighted the urgency of rescue operations amid the harsh conditions, mentioning temperatures as low as -15°C.”

Mr Wang said he expected the number of casualties to climb. “We now need to dig deeper [into the rubble]. But there are no big buildings in the area. So it will rise, but it won’t be much,” he said.