Thousands evacuated as China quake toll rises to 66

Authorities identified around 500 potential geological hazards in the area

Thousands evacuated as China quake toll rises to 66

A man walks past a damaged building after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in Luding county Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Chinese firefighters worked in treacherous terrain on Tuesday to help evacuate more than 11,000 people after a magnitude-6.8 quake struck China’s mountainous southwestern province of Sichuan a day earlier, killing at least 66 people. State media footage, taken at the epicentre in Luding county, showed firefighters stretchering an injured person across a makeshift bridge built with tree trunks as muddy torrents raged below them.

Evacuees who could walk followed a trail of scree alongside the river abutting slopes stripped of soil cover by Monday’s quake. Some of them were clutching onto their belongings while others carried injured people on their backs, a video from local media showed. In another video, firefighters were seen carrying a woman on a stretcher, out from a dangerously teetering four-storey wooden building.

As rescuers tried to reach stranded people, restore utilities and send emergency relief, state media reported 11,000 people had been evacuated from the area. Authorities had identified around 500 potential geological hazards, according to the reports, referring to landslides and collapsed mountain roads.

The death toll from the strongest earthquake to hit China’s southwestern Sichuan province since 2017 rose to 66 on Tuesday, though dozens of people were suffering heavy injuries. In all, more than 250 people were injured in the disaster, state media said. The tremblor struck after midday on Monday, and was felt by residents in Shaanxi and Guizhou, hundreds of kilometres away. On Tuesday, state television reported over 200 people were still stranded in Hailuogou, a popular tourist spot known for its glaciers, verdant forests and soaring peaks. Rescuers were working to reopen roads to reach them.

In Luding, power and water infrastructure and telecommunications were severely damaged, state television said. It also reported that 243 houses collapsed and 13,010 had been damaged. Four hotels and hundreds of tourist lodgings were also affected.

250
No of people injured in the disaster

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