Thrifty Banker
  • Politics
  • Business
  • World
  • Investing
  • Politics
  • Business
  • World
  • Investing

Thrifty Banker

World

Rescuers battle sub-zero temperatures as more than 120 killed by China’s deadliest quake in nearly a decade

by December 19, 2023
December 19, 2023
Rescuers battle sub-zero temperatures as more than 120 killed by China’s deadliest quake in nearly a decade

At least 126 people were killed and hundreds more injured after an earthquake hit northwest China, state media reported Tuesday, as rescue teams scrambled to reach survivors in sub-zero temperatures.

The quake, China’s deadliest in nearly a decade, rocked Jishishan county in Gansu Province late Monday night, damaging houses and roads. Rescuers raced to search for survivors trapped under rubble, while residents rushed outdoors, huddling overnight in the bitter winter cold.

As of Tuesday morning, the quake has killed 113 people, injured 536 others and damaged more than 155,393 houses in Gansu, CCTV said. Rescue workers have pulled 67 people from the rubble and evacuated 685 others from the province, according to the state media outlet.

In the neighboring province of Qinghai, 13 people have died and 182 were injured, with 20 more still missing as of noon, according to local officials.

The quake struck just before midnight while many would have been sleeping in their homes. It measured 5.9-magnitude at the shallow depth just over 6 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey. The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) gave a slightly higher reading of 6.2 magnitude.

The epicenter is located close to the border between Gansu and Qinghai, a mountainous region on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. The quake was followed by nine aftershocks at magnitude 3 and above as of the morning, according to the CENC.

The initial tremors lasted nearly 20 seconds and were felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou 102 kilometers (63 miles) away, CCTV reported.

University students in Lanzhou shared photos on the social media site Weibo of crowds gathering outside their dormitories.

A student at Lanzhou University said when the quake struck, she first went to hide in the bathroom with her roommates, before running down 12 floors amid violent shakes.

“I’ve never felt such strong tremors,” she wrote in a Weibo post. “Wearing a down jacket, long underwear, and bare feet in slippers outdoors, where the temperature is lower than –10 degrees Celsius, (I’m) shivering with everyone.”

Some village homes in Gansu and Qinghai have collapsed into rubble, with firefighters pulling survivors out of the debris in the dark, footage from CCTV showed.

The quake has also cut off water and electricity supply as well as mobile signals in some areas, complicating rescue efforts.

At least 4,000 firefighters, police officers and soldiers have been dispatched to the disaster zone in Gansu, along with thousands of tents, folding beds, quilts and portable fire pits, according to provincial officials.

Bitter temperatures

In the epicenter of Jishishan, a county home to about 260,000 people, many rushed out of their homes to seek safety in open areas. Videos and images on state media and social media show families huddling together and wrapped in thick blankets on a public square.

A villager in Jishishan said she didn’t have time to put on extra clothes and ran out barefoot, rushing past bricks and glass shattered on the ground.

“There was a loud ‘boom’ and the wall on the second floor collapsed. (I was) nearly hit and trapped inside,” the villager told Jiupai News, a news site affiliated with the state-run Changjiang Daily.

Authorities have set up tents at a temporary resettlement site on a square in Dahejia, a hard-hit town in Jishishan county, CCTV reported.

The lowest temperature in Jishishan was -14 degrees Celsius, or 6.8 degrees Fahrenheit, overnight, according to CCTV.

The below-freezing temperatures pose the “biggest challenge” to rescue efforts, Wang Duo, an expert involved in the rescue, told the state-run outlet China Newsweek. The first 72 hours are usually considered the “golden period” for rescue, but that precious time window is shortened in this case due to the biting cold, Wang said.

Large swathes of China, including its northwest, have been gripped by a sudden cold snap in recent days, with temperatures plunging to near historic lows in some northern areas.

Chinese Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged authorities to “make all-out efforts” to search for survivors and treat the injured, noting that the disaster took place in a high-altitude area with cold weather, according to Xinhua.

China’s Finance Ministry and Emergency Management Ministry allocated 200 million yuan ($28 million) in natural disaster relief funds to the two provinces hit by the quake, Xinhua reported.

China is no stranger to powerful earthquakes, especially in southwestern parts of the country where the Eurasian tectonic plate meets the Indian plate, a dramatic collision that creates the mighty Himalayas and the vast Tibetan plateau.

The quake is the deadliest to have hit China in nearly a decade, according to publicly available reports, since an earthquake in the southwestern province of Yunnan killed around 600 people in 2014.

Yunnan’s neighboring province, Sichuan, witnessed a devastating magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2008 that killed some 90,000 people.

Source: USGS
This post appeared first on cnn.com
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Top 5 Canadian Cleantech Stocks of 2023
next post
Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking ships in the Red Sea?

Related Posts

Once celebrated, an inventor’s breakthroughs are now viewed...

May 25, 2024

Haiti’s transitional government names new council president, proposes interim prime...

May 1, 2024

Trump has put America’s allies in an impossible...

February 8, 2025

Armed men attack police stations near National Palace...

March 11, 2024

Spain, Norway and Ireland will recognize a Palestinian...

May 22, 2024

Mali rebels say they have taken base vacated...

November 1, 2023

United Nations General Assembly votes to demand immediate...

December 13, 2023

Hedgehog’s spines, anteater’s snout: A long-lost mammal is...

November 10, 2023

Mexicans vote in historic election expected to choose...

June 3, 2024

China has a sweeping vision to reshape the...

November 10, 2023

    Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest insights, updates, and exclusive content straight to your inbox! Whether it's industry news, expert advice, or inspiring stories, we bring you valuable information that you won't find anywhere else. Stay connected with us!


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Popular

    • 1

      Top 10 Countries for Natural Gas Production (Updated 2024)

      April 6, 2024
    • 2

      Trump-era China sanctions ended by Biden may be revived under new House GOP bill

      June 27, 2024
    • 3

      Top 10 Uranium-producing Countries (Updated 2024)

      April 18, 2024
    • 4

      A GOP operative accused a monastery of voter fraud. Nuns fought back.

      January 3, 2025
    • 5

      Top 9 Nickel-producing Countries (Updated 2024)

      April 23, 2024
    • 6

      Australian abolitionist, Grace Forrest, receives coveted ‘Freedom from Fear’ award

      April 13, 2024
    • 7

      LME Sanctions on Russian Metal Push Copper, Nickel and Aluminum Prices Higher

      April 17, 2024

    Categories

    • Business (1,028)
    • Investing (2,046)
    • Politics (2,977)
    • Uncategorized (20)
    • World (3,347)
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: thriftybanker.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 thriftybanker.com | All Rights Reserved