A powerful earthquake in northern Sichuan province last night has injured 175 people and killed at least 13, although that number is expected to climb. Of the wounded, 28 are considered in serious condition.
The seismic disaster occurred at 9.20pm yesterday, hitting Jiuzhaigou county, the home of Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve – a tourist area popular for its waterfalls, colorful lakes and giant pandas. Tragically, five tourists are reported to be among the dead and authorities closed the Jiuzhaigou tourist area this morning in response to the quake.
As for the power of the earthquake, there seems to be some disagreement, according to CNN, with the US Geological Survey claiming the quake had a magnitude of 6.5, while state media, citing the China Earthquake Networks Center, has reported a 7.0 magnitude.
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Either way, the quake was undoubtedly mighty, being felt 284 kilometers away from the epicenter in the provincial capital of Chengdu. It is also estimated to have damaged 130,000 homes, according to the Guardian.
“I was also in Jiuzhaigou in 2008 during the last big quake, so I knew what it was. This felt even stronger,” a restaurant owner in Jiuzhaigou told AFP. “People didn’t dare grab anything like money or clothes – we just all ran outside right away.”
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The restaurateur, named Tang Sesheng, added that people fled their homes to the public square, which is away from tall structures. She said that many people were afraid to go back home, concerned that their home’s structural integrity may be compromised and at risk of collapse.
Rescue and recovery operations are currently underway, with almost 400 fire trucks and over 1,100 firefighters descending on the site of the disaster, according to a CCTV report. Emergency responders have brought life detectors, rescue canines and generators with them.
President Xi Jinping has urged rescuers to launch “all-out efforts to rapidly organise relief work and rescue the injured people.”
The site of last night’s quake is not far from the epicenter of 2008’s massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake, which left 87,000 people dead or missing.
And, if one earthquake in 24 hours wasn’t enough, this morning, at shortly before 7.30am, a 6.6-magnitude quake struck a remote part of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. (Note: The U.S. Geological Survey is at odds with the China Earthquake Networks Center again on this one, assessing the magnitude of the quake at 6.3.)
No casualties or damage have been reported by authorities in Xinjiang.
READ MORE: 7 Years on from the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, Survivors Still Struggle to Cope
[Images via CNN, Southern Metropolis Daily, Mianyang City Police-Fire Brigade, h/t Tencent News]
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