Rescuers check for damage in a village in Aksu Prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on January 23, 2024. A 7.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Wushi county in Aksu Prefecture in Xinjiang on the same day. Photo: CNS

 

Photo: CFP

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Wushi county in the Aksu Prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at around 2 am Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring five.

Houses throughout the county have suffered varying degrees of damage, with a total of 47 houses collapsing. All students in the earthquake-affected area were safely evacuated, with no casualties reported among them.

A total of 12,426 people in the earthquake affected area have been relocated so far, said a Xinjiang official at a Tuesday conference, noting that rescue work is still underway.

The average altitude within a 5-kilometer radius of the earthquake epicenter stands at approximately 3,048 meters, while the population within a 20-kilometer radius is sparsely scattered.

Wushi county owned a population of more than 230,000 as of 2019.

The main quake was followed by a succession of aftershocks as strong as 5.3 magnitude, according to the CENC, noting that 70 aftershocks were recorded as of 16:00 on Tuesday. In the past five years, there have been a total of more than 160 earthquakes with a magnitude of 3 or above within a 200-kilometer radius of the epicenter. The latest earthquake is the largest earthquake so far.

The earthquake caused strong tremors in the surrounding areas. Aksu, Kashi, Korla, Karamay, and other places experienced strong tremors. There have been reports of tremors in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

People in several residential areas in the Wushi said their building swayed for about one minute and they quickly evacuated the building during the sub-zero temperature. Some residents reported that even the chandeliers in their living rooms fell down. 

"It is the first time I've felt such a strong tremor in my life. I shouted 'earthquake' and I ran downstairs. I didn't even have time to get my clothes and my shoes on… my legs were trembling when I rushed downstairs and people in my building were all running down at that time,"a resident in Aksu, more than 100 kilometers from the epicenter, told the Global Times. 

A resident surnamed Liu from Keping county in Aksu said that after the earthquake, many people in the county ran downstairs to take shelter. Some people have even driven their cars to open areas to avoid aftershocks. 

More than 2,000 people in Wushi county took shelter in a sports stadium after the earthquake. 

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang Military Command sent a total of 630 soldiers, while the Xinjiang People's Armed Police Force has deployed a total of 678 troops to help the rescue work. 

The top priority of our rescue work is to relocate people in affected areas and erect shelters, Luo Yansheng from a rescue team working in Wushi county told the Global Times. He said the biggest difficulty right now is the cold weather. "The temperature dropped to -18 C and it is important to have materials and food."

Luo said the damage caused by the earthquake is limited because the epicenter is in an uninhabited area. 

Ministry of Emergency Management, along with other government bodies, urgently allocated 1,000 cotton tents, 5,000 winter clothing, 5,000 cotton quilts, 5,000 folding beds, and 1,000 heaters and other objects to Wushi county, to ensure the safety and resettlement of affected people.

The National Health Commission has immediately contacted the local health commission to arrange for medical support.

As of Tuesday midday, all trains have resumed operation. The earthquake has not had any impact on civil aviation and postal operations, said authority.

The China Earthquake Networks Center organized experts to conduct research and analysis on this earthquake. They believe that this earthquake occurred in the Tianshan Seismic Zone. A preliminary analysis of the focal mechanism indicates that this earthquake is a thrust-type rupture.

In December, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake occured in Jishishan county, Northwest China's Gansu Province and claimed more than 100 lives. Jishishan county is about 2,800 kilometers away from Wushi county.