The death toll in twin shallow earthquakes in China`s northwest Gansu province near Tibet rose to 95 on Tuesday while rescue workers struggled to reach remote areas to reach victims buried under landslides.
|Last Updated: Jul 23, 2013, 11:02 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Beijing: The death toll in twin shallow earthquakes in China`s northwest Gansu province near Tibet rose to 95 on Tuesday while rescue workers struggled to reach remote areas to reach victims buried under landslides.
Over 1,000 injured in the 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the juncture area of Minxian and Zhangxian counties in the city of Dingxi yesterday, official media here reported on Tuesday.
One person remained missing, the Gansu provincial earthquake emergency response centre said.
Fourteen people who went missing in the earthquakes have been confirmed dead, bringing the death toll to 95, local authorities said today.
The disaster has left leaving 95 dead and 1,001 injured, said Zhang Kebing, deputy director of the provincial civil affairs department.
As per initial reports about 51,800 houses were collapsed and 2.40 lakh houses severely damaged.
Local governments have relocated over 2.26 lakh people, state-run Xinhua reported.
Over 400 aftershocks rocked the area causing extensive damage.
Reports in the official media said no casualties have been reported in schools so far from the earthquake as all the summer schools were closed for summer vacation.
Thousands of relief workers were sent to clear the debris and rescue as many people as possible in the gold 42 hour period.
Two helicopters and about 3,000 armed police, firefighters, local militiamen and local government staff have been sent to the quake-hit region to help with rescue efforts.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has allotted 10,000 tents, 30,000 quilts and 10,000 sleeping bags to the quake-hit region.
Train services on a major railway line have been suspended because of heavy rain and landslides that have occurred.
In addition to aftershocks, falling rocks were reported in the mountainous region following the quake, posing a threat to rescuers helping villagers.
The quake occurred on a fault zone in the province, which has recorded 25 earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 5, the China Earthquake Administration said.
Residents in Minxian said the quake lasted for about a minute, with sources at the county government saying most of the townships in the area have been affected.
Wang Shan, an archaeologist from the Gansu Provincial Institute of Historic Relics and Archaeology, said he and his colleagues ran out of their houses in Shuzha village in Minxian when the quake struck.
"We had just finished our breakfast. I could feel the earth was shaking vertically but the horizontal tremor was not very obvious," he told state-run China Daily.
He said a series of aftershocks occurred in the morning and some of them were so strong that his family members in Lanzhou could feel them.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.