Earthquake in China's Sichuan province: Death toll rises to 66; 50,000 people evacuated
The death toll from a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southwestern China rose to 66 as rescuers searched for victims and survivors, local authorities said on Tuesday.
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FollowThe death toll from a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southwestern China rose to 66 as rescuers searched for victims and survivors, local authorities said on Tuesday. The powerful quake hit Luding County in Sichuan province on Monday.
Authorities reported that following the earthquake, more than 50,000 people were evacuated, leaving 66 dead.
So far, 38 people have been killed in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the other 28 died in the city of Ya'an, the rescue headquarters told a press briefing.
In the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, four counties, one county-level city, and two counties in Ya'an reported earthquake-related damages. The hardest-hit regions were Luding County in Ganzi and Shimian County in Ya'an.
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, 253 people were hurt, 15 were missing, five were in critical condition, and 70 were in serious condition.
Six medical teams are on the scene of the catastrophe, and 175 injured have been sent to hospitals for additional care.
The earthquake caused damage to homes, roads, water conservation facilities, hydropower installations, telecommunications, and infrastructure supporting tourism and the environment.
In Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 243 rooms of residential houses collapsed, and 13,010 rooms were damaged. The quake also damaged electricity transmission lines and caused power outages in eight townships.
Roads leading to several villages in the counties of Luding and Shimian were destroyed, leaving them cut off. Villagers are being evacuated by boats, and transportation authorities have dispatched 19 teams to immediately fix roads so that rescue operations can proceed more easily.
For the earthquake, Sichuan has initiated the highest degree of emergency response.
More than 6,600 firefighters, medical professionals, and other rescue personnel were actively involved in the rescue and search efforts.
The provincial emergency management department and the Sichuan branch of the Red Cross Society of China have sent over 89,000 items of disaster relief materials to the quake-hit areas.
(With inputs from PTI)
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