Earthquake in China Kills at Least 127

At least 127 people have been killed in a recent big earthquake that struck central China during the night. There hasn’t been an earthquake this deadly in the nation in ten years, according to local officials. It wreaked havoc in two provinces, injuring many and leaving others thought dead amid the wreckage of buildings and landslides.

On December 17, just before midnight, the border region between the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai was struck by an earthquake. Seismic activity is common in the mountainous area that borders the Tibetan plateau, although earthquakes of this magnitude rarely occur there.

The most recent instance of such widespread destruction in China was in September 2022, when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the province of Sichuan, killing ninety-three people. Nearly six years had passed since the last big disaster, which struck the Yunnan province in August 2014, occurred in the nation. There were 617 casualties from that 6.1 magnitude earthquake. In 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck the province of Sichuan, China, making it one of the country’s worst earthquakes. Nearly 90,000 people were killed in that disaster, according to officials.

According to some sources, the most recent earthquake registered 6.2 on the Richter scale. However, according to the New York Post, the US Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 5.9. There were nine aftershocks registered in the first ten hours after the main event, with the biggest one measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale. Authorities organized the search and rescue operation by deploying over 4,000 first responders and soldiers and setting up a command center at the People’s Liberation Army Western Theatre.

At evacuation areas, displaced people sought refuge in tents. Rescue efforts were impeded by subzero temperatures, and organizers allegedly sought heavy clothing, generators, and stove fuel to meet their demands. Since Muslims made up the majority of the victims, the rescue food coordinator specifically requested that it adhere to Muslim dietary requirements.