At least 111 people lost their lives, and more than 230 others sustained injuries in a powerful earthquake that struck the Gansu-Qinghai border region in China on Tuesday, according to reports from state media. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) initially measured the earthquake at magnitude 6.1, while Chinese state media reported it as a 6.2 magnitude event.
The quake, with a depth of 35 km (21.75 miles), had its epicenter located 102 km west-southwest of Gansu’s provincial capital city, Lanzhou, as reported by EMSC. Official reports have not yet indicated whether there are any missing individuals in the aftermath of the earthquake.
The official Xinhua news agency noted that the epicenter was 5 km from the border between the two northwestern provinces, highlighting strong tremors felt in various parts of Qinghai province. In response to the disaster, China’s national commission for disaster prevention, reduction, and relief, along with the Ministry of Emergency Management, activated a level-IV disaster relief emergency.
Given the high-altitude and cold weather conditions in the affected region, rescue efforts are focused on preventing secondary disasters beyond the quake itself, according to Xinhua. Linxia in Gansu, near the quake’s location, experienced temperatures of about minus 14 degrees Celsius (6.8°F) on Tuesday morning, compounded by a nationwide cold wave.
Although some water, electricity, transportation, communications, and other infrastructure have been damaged, officials have not provided further details. Rescue and relief operations are currently underway, with a dispatched working group assessing the disaster’s impact and providing guidance for local relief efforts, as reported by state media.
Preliminary analysis indicates that the quake was a thrust-type rupture, a classification shared by only three earthquakes above magnitude 6 within 200 km of the epicenter since 1900, according to state television CCTV. Nine aftershocks, measuring magnitude 3.0 and above, were recorded before dawn on Tuesday. The information is sourced from Reuters.
