China mobilized thousands of firefighters and members of its military after a major earthquake struck the country's northwestern regions near the stroke of midnight on Monday, killing more than 100 people, state media outlets said.
The temblor's epicenter was identified in Jishishan, a county in Gansu province home to predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups. Rescuers reported at least 105 deaths there, China's official Xinhua News Agency said on Tuesday morning.
In neighboring Qinghai, a province spread across the Tibetan Plateau, at least 13 people were killed in the disaster, according to local emergency management authorities, who said hundreds more were injured in both regions.
There were also reports of widespread damage to hundreds of homes and other infrastructure including power and water supplies, which were being gradually restored.
The country's quake-prone western regions typically experience intensive tectonic activity throughout the year. In 2008, one of China's worst earthquakes to date killed nearly 70,000 people in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
The China Earthquake Networks Center recorded Monday's event at magnitude 6.2. The U.S. Geological Survey measured it as a slightly lower 5.9.
The quake hit at 11:59 p.m. on December 18 at a depth of 6 miles, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV, which said tremors were felt in Gansu's provincial capital Lanzhou, more than 60 miles away.
Emergency shelters were set up at local hospitals, which also sustained structural damage, and thousands of rescuers reached affected areas with supplies by early Tuesday, CCTV said. These included tents, mattresses, quilts and stoves for displaced families.
Photographs showed partially collapsed brick houses and firefighters searching through rubble in the night. Xinhua, which described the earthquake as having "attacked" the northwestern regions, said first responders faced challenging high altitudes, subzero temperatures and complex terrain.
The country's state media reported the epicenter's lowest temperature as around 7 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chinese authorities said they were working within a 72-hour "golden window" to find potential survivors in the two remote provinces, which are among the country's most impoverished.
China's president, Xi Jinping, called for "all-out search and rescue efforts" after the disaster. Beijing allocated an additional $28 million to the local governments of the quake-hit areas, according to the Chinese Finance Ministry.
Also on Tuesday, China reported a 5.5-magnitude earthquake in Artux in the far western Xinjiang region. No casualties were reported, according to Xinhua, and its connection to the previous night's temblor was unclear.
Earlier, Chinese officials said aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 5 were likely in the coming days.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
