A 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Gansu, Qinghai, China, claims 118 lives.

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Shortly before midnight on Monday, a magnitude-6.2 earthquake rocked a remote and hilly area on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, killing at least 118 people and injuring hundreds more, according to Chinese official media.

After the earthquake destroyed infrastructure and roads, caused landslides, and partially buried a village in silt, authorities quickly organised a variety of emergency solutions. However, rescue operations in below-freezing temperatures have proven difficult, with the majority of China experiencing below-freezing temperatures following a strong cold wave that swept through the nation.

The Xinhua news agency said that hundreds of military and police officers were also sent to the disaster area, along with about 2,200 members of the Gansu provincial fire department, 900 members of the forest brigade, and 260 professional emergency rescue workers.

Along with supplies that included 2,600 cotton tents, 10,400 folding beds, 10,400 quilts, 10,400 cotton mattresses, and 1,000 sets of stoves, the province also donated 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) to the local government for emergency response efforts.

About 260,000 people live in Jishishan. County officials there told local media that their authority was dependent on the provincial government due to a shortage of resources. One of China’s poorest provinces is Gansu.

Following the dispatch of 18 emergency repair teams by the state grid, power was progressively restored to the earthquake-affected area, according to CCTV. In Jishishan, the power supply had been restored to about 88% by midday local time.

Numerous landslides caused damage to dozens of rural and highway routes, but no fatalities were reported.

In state-run television images, firefighters and rescue workers could be seen sifting through the debris of fallen houses. In one town in Gansu, loose bricks had tumbled from a damaged house and landed on a dirt alley; in other, stronger buildings, the roofs had collapsed but the walls were still intact.

Students wearing down jackets were shown loitering in groups outside their dormitory at a university in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu, around 180 km from the epicentre, following the earthquake, according to a video, published by a government-backed The Document shown.

The earthquake had little effect on a large hydropower dam located 50 km away from the epicentre. The dam on the upper Yellow River was reportedly running regularly, according to CCTV.

A mudslide caused by the earthquake in a Qinghai village left numerous dwellings partially covered in brown silt. According to local media, rescuers have used bulldozers, excavators, and drones to locate and recover survivors.

In the central Henan province, tremors were detected up to 1,000 kilometres away. Local media sources published footage of people’s furniture wobbling in their houses.

The local media site Jimu stated that locals, startled by the earthquake, drove out of their buildings and sought shelter in open spaces. The article included a picture of individuals curled up in heavy blankets outside.

An initial examination reveals that Three earthquakes larger than a magnitude 6 have occurred within 200 km of the epicentre since 1900, according to CCTV. This one was a thrust-type rupture. Within an hour after the earthquake, at least 32 aftershocks were registered by the official media.

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