ALBAWABA - According to Chinese state media, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake jolted a remote and mountainous county on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau just before midnight on Monday, killing at least 118 people and injuring hundreds.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake jolted at 11:59 p.m. Monday and has a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter Liugou Township is about 8 km from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Sala Autonomous County in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu.
State news agency Xinhua said that the earthquake caused substantial damage, sending people running out to the streets as their houses came crashing down. CCTV footage showed family belongings visible among scattered concrete from a house that crashed in during the earthquake.
"I was almost scared to death. Look at how my hands and legs are shaking," said a woman of about 30 in a video posted to a social media account associated with the state-run People's Daily newspaper, AFP reported.
"As soon as I ran out of the house, the earth on the mountain gave way, thudding on the roof," she added.
Adding up to the disaster, Temperatures are below freezing in the high-altitude area, and rescuers should be on guard for secondary disasters, he said according to CCTV.
Power and water supplies were disrupted in some villages around the epicenter, Xinhua said. Footage from one of the worst-hit places on CCTV showed residents warming themselves by a fire while emergency services set up tents.
CCTV said more than 1,400 firefighters and rescue personnel had been sent to the disaster zone, while another 1,600 remained "on standby".
