All-out rescue, relief work amid bitter cold after NW China earthquake

Rescuers unload relief materials at a temporary relocation site in Dahe Village of Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, Dec. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Xin)

JISHISHAN, Gansu Province, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- All-out rescue and relief work are underway amid bitter cold as a 6.2-magnitude earthquake has killed 113 people and injured 782 others in northwest China's Gansu Province, according to a press conference on Wednesday.

The earthquake has claimed 18 lives in neighboring Qinghai Province, with 198 others injured and 16 still missing, local authorities said.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake occurred at 11:59 p.m. Monday, with a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter of Liugou Township is about 8 km from the county seat of the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan in Gansu Province.

As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, a total of 14,939 homes had collapsed and 207,204 homes were damaged, affecting 145,736 people from 37,162 households in Gansu, according to the press conference.

A person injured during an earthquake receives treatment at the People's Hospital of Jishishan County, northwest China's Gansu Province, Dec. 19, 2023. (Photo by Shi Youdong/Xinhua)

Over 4,500 rescuers from the provincial public security department, fire department and the military, as well as more than 820 vehicles, were dispatched to the disaster area to search every corner for survivors.

The province has sent 19 medical teams composed of 667 medical workers and 99 ambulances to join in the rescue work. All the injured people have been taken in by local hospitals.

A total of 87,076 people from 20,457 households have been temporarily relocated to safe places.

Emergency relief materials such as tents, quilts, folding beds and moisture-proof mats have been urgently allocated. Steamed buns, instant noodles and other food and living materials have been sent to the affected people to ensure they have enough food and to protect them from the freezing cold, said Han Shujun with the provincial emergency management department at the press conference.

Rescuers carry disaster relief materials at a temporary shelter in Dahe Village of Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan, northwest China's Gansu Province, Dec. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)

The transport department has swiftly deployed large-scale machinery units to clear the roads. Traffic has now fully resumed on all expressways, highways and rural roads.

Meanwhile, more than 500 workers from the electric power sector participated in emergency repairs, restoring the power supply to those people affected.

As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, all 314 base stations that were out of service due to the earthquake had restored operations, thanks to the telecommunications sector's emergency repair efforts.

A survey of post-earthquake geological disaster risks was conducted collaboratively by various departments. Production was halted at all mines within the earthquake-affected areas and people there were evacuated. The operation of 89 water conservancy facilities remains normal.

The local meteorological bureau said that, from Dec. 20 to Jan. 2, the lowest temperature in the earthquake-hit county is expected to range from minus 10 degrees Celsius to minus 14 degrees Celsius.

Rescuers are in operation at Meiyi Village of Minhe County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

In the city of Haidong, Qinghai Province, which was severely affected by the earthquake, an investigation of 816 schools has been completed and more than 50 local schools have been damaged to different degrees, according to local authorities.

Following the quake, the Qinghai provincial education department promptly conducted relief work, including situation investigations, emergency rescue and heating supply. It has guided schools in quake-hit areas in launching online teaching plans to ensure students' basic needs of learning and living.

The department has also opened hotlines for psychological assistance, financial assistance and postgraduate entrance exam inquiries for students.