Magnitude-6.2 quake kills 118 in northwestern China’s Gansu, Qinghai provinces
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A magnitude-6.2 earthquake jolted a remote and mountainous county on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau just before midnight on Monday, killing at least 118 people and injuring hundreds, according to Chinese state media.
Authorities have mobilised an array of emergency responses, but rescue work could prove challenging in subzero temperatures. Most of China is grappling with freezing temperatures as a cold wave that started last week continued to sweep through the country.Twenty people have been reported missing in the quake’s aftermath after hours of rescue and relief efforts that began before sunrise, according to state media.Earthquakes are common in western provinces such as Gansu, which lie on the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, a tectonically active area. China’s deadliest quake in recent decades was in 2008 when a magnitude-8.0 temblor struck Sichuan, killing nearly 70,000 people.The epicentre of the latest quake was 5 km from the border between Gansu and a neighbouring province. Strong tremors were felt in many parts of Qinghai province, the official Xinhua news agency said.
