At least 116 people were killed and nearly four hundred were injured due to a powerful earthquake in northwest China.
Data on victims and injured
Gansu Province
In Gansu province, more than 4,700 houses were damaged due to the earthquake.
Now watching
As of the morning of December 19, the earthquake killed 105 people, injured 397 people, including 16 in critical condition and 76 in serious condition.
Qinghai Province
According to CCTV, in the neighboring province of Qinghai 11 people died.
What is known about the earthquake
The earthquake occurred around midnight, when many were already asleep.
The tremors lasted almost 20 seconds, and were felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou, 102 km away.
Do you want to relax? Go to Facti.GAMES!
According to the United States Geological Survey, the magnitude of the earthquake on the night of December 19 was 5.9.
China Earthquake Authority gives slightly higher figures – 6.2 points.
The earthquake cut off water and electricity supplies, and in some areas, mobile communications, complicating rescue efforts.
In Gansu and Qinghai, more than 1,600 firefighters pulled people out of the rubble in the dark.
Severe frosts in China
But the biggest challenge for the rescue campaign is the low temperatures.
If usually the first 72 hours are considered “golden period” for salvation, then due to severe frost the precious period of time is shortened.
According to CCTV, the lowest temperature in Jishishan, where people were also awakened by strong tremors at night, was -14°.
Large areas of China, including the northwest, were hit by a cold snap a few days ago. Temperatures have dropped to near historic lows in some northern areas.
Earthquakes in China
Strong earthquakes are not uncommon in China, especially in the southwestern parts of the country where the Eurasian tectonic plate collides with the Indian plate, resulting in the formation of the Himalayas and the great Tibetan plateau.
It is expected that this earthquake may become the largest in terms of death toll in China in almost ten years.
In 2014, an earthquake in the southwestern province of Yunnan killed about 600 people.
In 2008, in the neighboring Sichuan province of Yunnan, about 90 thousand people died from an earthquake of magnitude 7.9.
