At least 120 dead after massive earthquake strikes China
The Gansu-Qinghai border region in China was struck by a devastating earthquake on Tuesday, resulting in a tragic toll of at least 120 fatalities and over 266 individuals sustaining injuries, as reported by state media sources.
Official Chinese reports cited the earthquake as measuring 6.2 in magnitude, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded it slightly lower at magnitude 6.1.
This seismic event, occurring at a depth of 35 kilometers (approximately 21.75 miles), had its epicenter situated 102 kilometers west-southwest of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu, according to EMSC data. As of the current reports, there has been no official confirmation regarding any individuals missing in the aftermath of the quake.
The official Xinhua news agency detailed that the epicenter was merely 5 kilometers away from the border shared between the two northwestern provinces. Reports indicated significant tremors felt across various parts of Qinghai province.
The area near the earthquake's origin, specifically in Linxia, Gansu, experienced a chilling temperature of about minus 14 degrees Celsius (6.8°F) on Tuesday morning. Much of China has been battling freezing temperatures due to a persisting cold wave that commenced last week and has been sweeping across the country.
Preliminary assessments suggest that the earthquake resulted from a thrust-type rupture, classified as one of three above magnitude 6 seismic events to have occurred within 200 kilometers of the epicenter since 1900, as highlighted by state television CCTV.
CCTV also reported a total of nine aftershocks measuring 3.0 magnitude and above occurring before dawn on Tuesday.
The memory of previous seismic catastrophes in China remains poignant. The devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan in 2008 claimed the lives of more than 87,000 individuals or left them missing, with a heartbreaking count of 5,335 children perishing while in school during the disaster.
Another haunting chapter in China's history unfolded in 1976 when an earthquake struck Tangshan, resulting in a staggering loss of at least 242,000 lives. This calamity remains etched as the deadliest natural disaster in Chinese history.
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