At least 118 people have been killed and hundreds injured after an earthquake hit northwestern China in a remote and mountainous region while many were asleep at home
The authorities quickly mobilised several emergency responses, but their work was complicated as the earthquake wrecked roads and infrastructure, triggered landslides, and half buried a village in silt. The rescue work has also proved challenging in subzero temperatures, with most of China grappling with below-freezing conditions after a powerful cold wave swept across the country.
“The mountainous, remote, arid regions are not easy to get to, and … they are more underdeveloped and poor than the rest of China and that is reflected in the quality of the construction,” said Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu reporting from Beijing, adding that the government said about 4,000 homes have been destroyed and some villages have collapsed entirely.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for “all-out efforts” in the search and relief operations. Nearly 1,500 firefighters were deployed with another 1,500 on standby, according to state media. More than 300 officers and soldiers were also mobilised for disaster relief.
