At least 111 people have been killed in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in north-west China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces, according to the state news agency.
Xinhua said that 100 people had died in the province of Gansu and another 11 in neighbouring Qinghai province in the quake, which occurred just before midnight on Monday.
More than 200 people were injured, 96 in Gansu and 124 in Qinghai after the strong, shallow earthquake struck in Gansu’s Jishishan county..
The quake caused significant damage, bringing down houses, and sent people running into the street for safety, the agency said. Power and water supplies were disrupted and debris could be seen in videos posted to social media.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km at 11:59pm local time on Monday, according to the USGS, which revised the magnitude downward after initially reporting 6.0.
Officials launched an emergency response and dispatched rescue personnel to the area just after the quake, and provincial leaders were also en route.
According to USGS, the quake occurred some 100km south-west of Gansu province’s capital, Lanzhou, and was followed by several smaller aftershocks.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in China. In August, a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern China, injuring 23 people and collapsing dozens of buildings.
With Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
