The dead amount to 65 of the 6.6 Richter that hit Sichuan Province yesterday (5/9). in China. Its center was in Luding Canton, an area of valleys, rushing rivers and narrow roads, near the Tibetan Plateau, some 200 kilometers west of the provincial capital Chengdu. Yesterday’s tremor shook buildings in Chengdu, where the 21 million residents are in lockdown due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
China’s state-run CCTV broadcast footage today of orange-suited firefighters and police pulling a young girl, her body covered in fluids, from the rubble of a building and carrying her on a stretcher to an ambulance. Other shots show wooden and concrete houses torn down or in shambles.
Some roads, where debris fell or cracks opened due to the earthquake, are impassable, forcing rescue crews to cross rivers with the help of makeshift bridges or cables connecting one bank to the other.
At least 37 people died in Tibet’s Ghanzi autonomous region, where the epicenter was located, and another 28 in neighboring Simian canton, according to CCTV and the People’s Daily, an organ of the politburo of the ruling Communist Party’s central committee.
The army is also investigating
From the earthquake there are 250 wounded and 12 missing according to various imgs cited by state media and relayed by APE-MPE.
About 200 people have been stranded after a road was closed in the Hailuo Valley, an area of icebergs and snow-capped peaks, particularly touristic, at an altitude of more than 2,850 meters, according to CCTV.
China’s military, accustomed to being mobilized to deal with natural disasters, said today it has deployed 1,900 soldiers to help search for missing persons and provide aid to the population.
State media broadcast footage of residents taking temporary shelter at night in large blue tents as soldiers distributed water and meals to them.
At least 10 magnitude 3 aftershocks have been recorded and above after the initial earthquake, according to the latest update this morning from the China Seismological Network Center. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for “everything to be done to help earthquake victims” and to “minimize the loss of human life,” according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
Rain is coming
The weather service is predicting rain in the coming days in the area where the epicenter is located, which will make search and rescue operations difficult.
Sichuan in Chinawhich is often hit by strong earthquakes, is known around the world for its panda bear sanctuaries and for its spicy cuisine, one of the most famous in China.
In June, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the province, killing four people and injuring dozens.
In May 2008, very strong earthquake, a magnitude 7.9, left 87,000 dead or missing in Sichuan. That disaster had caused a national shock. Among the victims were thousands of male and female schoolgirls, as schools that had been built in hastily collapsed. Police had then arrested activists who were trying to gather data on the exact number of children’s lives lost in the disaster.
Source: News Beast
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