More than 60 people were killed in an earthquake that struck areas of southern China on Tuesday (Sept. 6), and rescuers searched through the rubble for hundreds of people who were still missing as local weather authorities warned that rain was about to overwhelm the region.
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Monday at a depth of 10 km, around 43 km southeast of the city of Kangding in the Sichuan Province. State media claimed on Tuesday morning that at least 65 people had died, 248 injuries have been reported and at least 15 people remain missing.
Firefighters were seen taking a survivor across a river on a makeshift bridge, removing a wounded and injured woman from the rubble, and repairing damaged structures and streets littered with stone in footage from state broadcaster CCTV.
Boulders were seen crashing down mountain slopes in Luding county, sending up clouds of dust as the earthquakes shook telephone cables along the side of the road. The footage was released by the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). According to CCTV, at least one town experienced serious damage as a result of landslides brought on by the earthquake.
Buildings in the nearby megacity of Chongqing and the provincial capital of Chengdu, where millions of people are confined to their homes under a stringent COVID-19 lockdown, were also shaken by the quake, locals said to AFP. As of 7 a.m. local time, at least 10 aftershocks of magnitude 3 or higher had been recorded, according to CCTV.
Luding County, the epicenter of the earthquake, will have rain for three days, according to the local meteorological department, which could complicate rescue efforts.
China's government announced Friday night that a special team had been dispatched to oversee the efforts, and CCTV reported that more than 6,500 individuals had been rushed for immediate rescue.
To aid in the relief effort, local officials have made a public request for donations.
According to the State Council of China, China activated a Level 3 emergency response and despatched rescue teams to Luding County on Monday. CGTN, rescue teams are assisting in the clearing of roads that have been obstructed by landslides caused by the earthquake.
Sichuan, a province of 84 million people, has already had a difficult summer before the big earthquake. The province has seen drought and the worst heatwaves in 60 years in the last two months.
