Midnight earthquake kills at least 111 in China
PTI, Dec 19, 2023, 8:01 AM IST
BEIJING/JISHISHAN: At least 111 people were killed when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck an ethnic county in northwest China’s Gansu and neighbouring Qinghai province on midnight Monday, the local earthquake relief headquarters said.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the shallow quake jolted the region at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, with a focal depth of 10 kilometres.
Experts say shallow quakes cause heavy damage to infrastructure.
The epicentre of the earthquake Liugou township is about 8 kilometres from the county seat of Jishishan Bao’an, Dongxiang, Sala autonomous county in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Gansu.
Qinghai province is adjacent to the Tibet Himalayan region which is prone to frequent earthquakes due to shifting of continental plates.
The earthquake damaged houses, roads, as well as other infrastructures, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted eyewitnesses from the area as saying.
Several villages suffered power failures and disruption of water.
According to local meteorological authorities, the daily low temperature in Jishishan is reported to climb minus 10 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.
The provincial fire and rescue department sent 580 rescuers aided with 88 fire engines, 12 search and rescue dogs, and more than 10,000 sets of equipment to the disaster area.
The railway authority has suspended passenger and cargo trains passing through the quake zone and ordered a safety check of railway tracks.
Hu Changsheng, the ruling Communist Party chief of Gansu, and Ren Zhenhe, the governor of Gansu, have rushed to the disaster-hit area to command rescue and relief efforts.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered all-out rescue efforts to minimise casualties after the earthquake.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
China announces new policy measures to protect its exports from Trump’s new tariff threat
Pak government prepares for proposed protest by former PM Imran Khan’s party on Nov 24
Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol arrested in US, lodged in Iowa jail
Pakistan to launch comprehensive operation against militants in Balochistan
PM Modi arrives in Brazil to attend G20 Summit on tour’s second leg
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Siddaramaiah says confident of winning all three bypolls in Karnataka
Hop on! IT Minister Priyank Kharge checks out Uber Shuttle at Bengaluru Tech Summit
Actress Kasthuri released from jail, says ‘I thank those who made me raging storm’
Kidnapped for ransom in 1998, 26/11 survivor Gautam Adani faces biggest trial
AIMPLB to hold its annual general sessions in Bengaluru from November 23
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.