A 6.8-magnitude earthquake in southwestern China has killed at least 46 people and sparked landslides in the province of Sichuan, officials said.
The quake happened just after noon on Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
People in the town of Luding, where the quake originated, were knocked off their feet, China News Service reported.
Buildings shook in Chengdu, the provincial capital, 125 miles from the epicenter of the quake.
Chinese state television reported that more than 1.5 million people live within 60 miles of the epicenter.
Beyond that, the Chengdu metropolitan area is home to over 16 million people.
Authorities reported landslides throughout the mountainous region, with at least one rural highway blocked by the falling rocks and soil, the Ministry of Emergency Management said. State TV reported power outages in Sichuan as well.
The tremor was felt well beyond the province, shaking the ground in nearby Yunnan, Shaanxi and Guizhou, state media reported.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern China hit Monday AP
The quake shook buildings in the regional capital of Chengdu, 125 miles away. USGS HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/ShutterstocSixteen people were missing as of Monday night, and the death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers continue to search the region.
Quakes are common in the province, located on a fault line at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Two quakes in June killed four people.
Earthquakes are common in the Sichuan Province. AP
Landslides blocked access to Chengdu following Monday’s quake. APIn 2008, over 70,000 people were killed in a 7.9-magnitude quake that hit Sichuan — the deadliest quake in recent Chinese history. The massive death toll led to an effort to rebuild with more quake-resistant materials.
“There was a strong earthquake in June, but it wasn’t very scary,” Chengdu resident Jiang Danli said Monday. “This time I was really scared, because I live on a high floor and the shaking made me dizzy.”
Laura Luo, a pr consultant who lives in the city, added, “There were many people who were so terrified, they started crying.
”All the dogs started barking. It was really quite scary.”
The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers comb through the rubble. AFP via Getty ImagesMonday’s tremor comes at a tumultuous time for the Sichuan province, which has been experiencing a heatwave and drought, exacerbated by a loss of power due to the region’s reliance on hydroelectric plants.
Authorities said no damage had been reported to the region’s dams in the wake of the quake, but damage to the grid had left some 40,000 Chinese citizens in the dark.
The quake also comes as Chengdu wrestles with another COVID-19 outbreak, plunging parts of the metropolis into lockdown.
The past two months in Chengdu “have been weird,” Jiang said.
With Post Wires
