Status: 05.09.2022 2:06 p.m
An earthquake has killed at least 21 people in the Chinese province of Sichuan. Because of plate shifts, the province is particularly at risk of earthquakes. At 6.8, it was the strongest earthquake since 2017.
At least 21 people have died in an earthquake in southwest China. More than 30 people were injured, state television reported. Earthquakes in Sichuan province reached magnitude 6.8, according to seismologists.
According to the Chinese earthquake center, the epicenter was near the city of Luding, around 230 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital Chengdu, and at a depth of 16 kilometers. A few minutes later there was a 4.2 magnitude aftershock near the city of Yaan, which is around 100 kilometers southwest of Chengdu.
houses badly damaged
The tremors were felt in Chengdu, home to around 21 million people, and in the cities of Xian and Changsha, several hundred kilometers away. “The earthquake was pretty strong and lasted for a while,” said Shirley Li, who lives on the 30th floor of a high-rise building in Chengdu. “It’s a difficult time for us: heat waves, the corona lockdown and now the earthquake.”
Landslides had occurred, reported state television. In Detuo, houses were badly destroyed, communication links were interrupted in Moxi and Yanzigou, and roads were damaged in Lengfeng.
In 2008 more than 80,000 people died
Earthquakes are relatively common in Sichuan Province, especially in the mountains to the west. An April 2013 earthquake that struck the city of Yaan and reached a magnitude of 7.0 killed more than a hundred people and injured thousands. In 2008, the province was hit by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. At that time, more than 80,000 people died.
Sichuan lies at the edge of the thrust zone of the Indian tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate. Due to plate movements, the province is particularly prone to earthquakes.