Xi orders all-out rescue efforts after 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Sichuan, killing at least 46
Aerial view of the earthquake epicenter taken by Twin-Tailed Scorpion drone, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Luding county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on September 5, 2022.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out relief efforts to prioritize saving lives and minimizing casualties after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Luding county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday, killing at least 46 people and leaving 50 injured.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the instruction after the quake hit Luding county at 12:52 pm. The epicenter was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 kilometers in Luding county.
The tremor was felt obviously in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, which is about 220 kilometers from the epicenter. Residents in other neighboring regions also felt it, according to the Sichuan Earthquake Administration.
The epicenter is about 40 kilometers away from the county seat of Luding, and there are several villages around the epicenter within a 5-kilometer range, with the average elevation reaching about 2,700 meters, according to media reports.
A Chengdu resident surnamed Tang told the Global Times on Monday that he had felt a strong shaking when the earthquake happened, so he fled outside the building while wearing a protective face mask for COVID-19 prevention.
According to videos sent to the Global Times by a local resident surnamed Zeng, several buildings in Chengdu showed large cracks in the middle and several residents said they had seen buildings leaning over.
Some videos that went viral online showed that the chandeliers on the roof were shaking and hotpot - local people's favorite dish - was shaking in Chengdu.
Seven earthquakes of more than 2.8 magnitude hit Sichuan within one hour on Monday. The topic got wide attention and concern from Chinese netizens, with more than 210 million clicks on Chinese-twitter like Sina Weibo, with many sending their blessings to the earthquake-hit regions.
The Sichuan earthquake administration activated a level-II emergency response, the second-highest in China's four-tier earthquake emergency response system, with experts noting that it's unlikely to see a larger earthquake in the original earthquake area soon, and the aftershocks will continue for some time, according to the administration.
Late on Monday night, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Luding county is located, raised its prefectural emergency response for earthquakes to level-I, the highest in the four-tier emergency response system.
Some roads and houses near the epicenter were damaged and communications were suspended in some towns. As of 6:45 pm, a landslip site in Luding county that blocked the G318 national highway had been cleared, and vehicles could travel in one direction.
More than 6,500 rescue workers including firefighters and armed police have been dispatched for rescue. Four helicopters and two drones have been sent, according to media reports.
So far, more than 50,000 affected residents have been relocated, according to Sichuan authorities.
A number of domestic satellites have also been urgently deployed to support the relief efforts in earthquake-hit regions in Sichuan by providing remote sensing and meteorological support.
A management staff from China's Xi'an Satellite Control Center told the Global Times on Monday that the center has urgently deployed satellite Gaofen-3 to enable satellite users to receive remote sensing images of the earthquake-hit regions in a timely manner, assisting the relevant analyzing and evaluation on the disaster situation.
The center will also provide a variety of information support for disaster relief based on the users' needs, said the staff member.
A Twin-Tailed Scorpion drone was dispatched to assist in inspections and communication coverage at 5 pm, according to a note its developer Sichuan Tengdun Tech Co sent to the Global Times on Monday. The mobile phone communications of rescue teams and disaster-hit residents have been restored in succession.
The Global Times also learned that a Wing Loong 2 drone arrived in the region on Monday. The drone can carry out disaster survey and emergency communications relay missions, according to its developer, the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China.
As of 5 pm on Monday, the Sichuan provincial emergency department had applied for the deployment of 4,400 tents, 14,000 quilts and 14,000 folding beds for emergency support in the disaster areas. A first batch of 51,000 pieces of relief supplies have been sent to the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Luding county is located; meanwhile, 44 medical staff have headed to the area, according to the authorities.
An early warning system of the earthquake issued a warning at the fifth second of the 6.8-magnitude quake in Luding, giving Kangding 7 seconds time to react, with 20 seconds for Ya'an and 50 seconds for Chengdu, said a statement that the Institute of Care-Life, a disaster-reduction lab based in Chengdu and one of the developers of the system, sent to the Global Times on Monday.
A large number of residential communities issued the warnings in advance through loudspeakers in Sichuan, and tens of millions of residents saw the warnings on TV or through mobile phones, as did epidemic prevention and control staffers. They were able to take emergency shelter in a timely manner, said the statement.
The quake was the 73rd consecutive damaging earthquake successfully warned about by the warning network since 2011, it noted.
Financial support of 150 million yuan ($21.64 million) has been deployed by the authorities to support the rescue and relief efforts in disaster-hit regions in Sichuan.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the instruction after the quake hit Luding county at 12:52 pm. The epicenter was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 kilometers in Luding county.
The tremor was felt obviously in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, which is about 220 kilometers from the epicenter. Residents in other neighboring regions also felt it, according to the Sichuan Earthquake Administration.
The epicenter is about 40 kilometers away from the county seat of Luding, and there are several villages around the epicenter within a 5-kilometer range, with the average elevation reaching about 2,700 meters, according to media reports.
A Chengdu resident surnamed Tang told the Global Times on Monday that he had felt a strong shaking when the earthquake happened, so he fled outside the building while wearing a protective face mask for COVID-19 prevention.
According to videos sent to the Global Times by a local resident surnamed Zeng, several buildings in Chengdu showed large cracks in the middle and several residents said they had seen buildings leaning over.
Some videos that went viral online showed that the chandeliers on the roof were shaking and hotpot - local people's favorite dish - was shaking in Chengdu.
Seven earthquakes of more than 2.8 magnitude hit Sichuan within one hour on Monday. The topic got wide attention and concern from Chinese netizens, with more than 210 million clicks on Chinese-twitter like Sina Weibo, with many sending their blessings to the earthquake-hit regions.
The Sichuan earthquake administration activated a level-II emergency response, the second-highest in China's four-tier earthquake emergency response system, with experts noting that it's unlikely to see a larger earthquake in the original earthquake area soon, and the aftershocks will continue for some time, according to the administration.
Late on Monday night, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Luding county is located, raised its prefectural emergency response for earthquakes to level-I, the highest in the four-tier emergency response system.
Some roads and houses near the epicenter were damaged and communications were suspended in some towns. As of 6:45 pm, a landslip site in Luding county that blocked the G318 national highway had been cleared, and vehicles could travel in one direction.
Fallen rocks are seen on a road near Lengqi Town in Luding County of Southwest China's Sichuan province after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Sept 5, 2022.Photo: Xinhua
More than 6,500 rescue workers including firefighters and armed police have been dispatched for rescue. Four helicopters and two drones have been sent, according to media reports.
So far, more than 50,000 affected residents have been relocated, according to Sichuan authorities.
A number of domestic satellites have also been urgently deployed to support the relief efforts in earthquake-hit regions in Sichuan by providing remote sensing and meteorological support.
A management staff from China's Xi'an Satellite Control Center told the Global Times on Monday that the center has urgently deployed satellite Gaofen-3 to enable satellite users to receive remote sensing images of the earthquake-hit regions in a timely manner, assisting the relevant analyzing and evaluation on the disaster situation.
The center will also provide a variety of information support for disaster relief based on the users' needs, said the staff member.
A Twin-Tailed Scorpion drone was dispatched to assist in inspections and communication coverage at 5 pm, according to a note its developer Sichuan Tengdun Tech Co sent to the Global Times on Monday. The mobile phone communications of rescue teams and disaster-hit residents have been restored in succession.
The Global Times also learned that a Wing Loong 2 drone arrived in the region on Monday. The drone can carry out disaster survey and emergency communications relay missions, according to its developer, the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China.
As of 5 pm on Monday, the Sichuan provincial emergency department had applied for the deployment of 4,400 tents, 14,000 quilts and 14,000 folding beds for emergency support in the disaster areas. A first batch of 51,000 pieces of relief supplies have been sent to the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Luding county is located; meanwhile, 44 medical staff have headed to the area, according to the authorities.
An early warning system of the earthquake issued a warning at the fifth second of the 6.8-magnitude quake in Luding, giving Kangding 7 seconds time to react, with 20 seconds for Ya'an and 50 seconds for Chengdu, said a statement that the Institute of Care-Life, a disaster-reduction lab based in Chengdu and one of the developers of the system, sent to the Global Times on Monday.
A large number of residential communities issued the warnings in advance through loudspeakers in Sichuan, and tens of millions of residents saw the warnings on TV or through mobile phones, as did epidemic prevention and control staffers. They were able to take emergency shelter in a timely manner, said the statement.
The quake was the 73rd consecutive damaging earthquake successfully warned about by the warning network since 2011, it noted.
Financial support of 150 million yuan ($21.64 million) has been deployed by the authorities to support the rescue and relief efforts in disaster-hit regions in Sichuan.
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