At least 66 people dead and 253 injured were recorded as of Tuesday, due to the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that occurred on Monday in the town of Luding, in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan.
Thirty-eight deaths have been recorded in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Luding County, and 28 in the city of Ya’an. In addition, 15 people are missing, according to the emergency management department of Sichuan province.
Chinese authorities are working to rescue those affected. More than 6,650 rescue forces, including Army soldiers, firefighters and medics, and nine helicopters have been dispatched.
The newspaper Global Times It highlights that thanks to the use of homemade drones and satellites to restore communications and provide meteorological and remote sensing services, China’s response to the earthquake has improved since the deadly 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan (Sichuan), which left almost 70,000 dead.
However, Chinese seismologists warned that the epicenter and nearby regions in Sichuan have to prepare for possible secondary disasters after the earthquake, such as landslides, in the coming days and even years.
According to the China Earthquake Administration, the Luding earthquake is the largest seismic event in Sichuan since the magnitude 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake in 2017.
Liu Hong, head of the Garzi culture, radio, television and tourism bureau, who was on the front line in Hailuogou, epicenter of the quake, told the Global Times that the road in and out of Hailuogou had collapsed from the movement and communication had also been cut off.
More than 200 people are trapped in the glacier national forest park located in Hailuogou, the China Central Television. In any case, Liu said the stranded tourists are currently fine and there is no impact on the park’s glacier.
According to the Sichuan meteorological department, Luding is likely to see heavy rain in the next three days, and local authorities should increase their precautions against landslides. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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