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Twin earthquakes hit northwestern China; at least four dead
Beijing, Oct 26: Two strong earthquakes shook a remote region of northwestern China`s Desertlands, killing at least four people and seriously injuring eight others, the government said today.
Beijing, Oct 26: Two strong earthquakes shook a
remote region of northwestern China's Desertlands, killing at
least four people and seriously injuring eight others, the
government said today.
The quakes - magnitudes 6.1 and 5.8 - hit Gansu province
at 8:41 and 8:48 pm (1811 and 1818 IST) yesterday, the
official Xinhua news agency reported from Lanzhou, the
provincial capital. It said another 17 people suffered minor
injuries.
It said the areas hit hardest were near the city of Zhangye. Xinhua, quoting the Provincial Seismological Bureau, said 30 per cent of houses near the epicenters were damaged severely and that 90 per cent of buildings in Yaozhaizi, a nearby village, collapsed.
The epicentres were about 500 km northwest of Lanzhou, Xinhua said.
The Hong Kong observatory reported one "intense" tremor at 8:46 pm (1816 IST) yesterday and said the epicentre was at the border of Gansu province with neighbouring Qinghai province. It estimated the magnitude at 6.1.
A government task force was en route to the area today morning.
Earlier this month, a strong earthquake rumbled through a remote, seismically active area of china's mountainous southwest, killing three people and felling at least 50 houses in an ethnic minority enclave in Yunnan province. Fourteen people were seriously injured in Dayao county.
In July, a 6.2-magnitude quake in Dayao county killed at least 15 people and injured 294.
Bureau Report
It said the areas hit hardest were near the city of Zhangye. Xinhua, quoting the Provincial Seismological Bureau, said 30 per cent of houses near the epicenters were damaged severely and that 90 per cent of buildings in Yaozhaizi, a nearby village, collapsed.
The epicentres were about 500 km northwest of Lanzhou, Xinhua said.
The Hong Kong observatory reported one "intense" tremor at 8:46 pm (1816 IST) yesterday and said the epicentre was at the border of Gansu province with neighbouring Qinghai province. It estimated the magnitude at 6.1.
A government task force was en route to the area today morning.
Earlier this month, a strong earthquake rumbled through a remote, seismically active area of china's mountainous southwest, killing three people and felling at least 50 houses in an ethnic minority enclave in Yunnan province. Fourteen people were seriously injured in Dayao county.
In July, a 6.2-magnitude quake in Dayao county killed at least 15 people and injured 294.
Bureau Report