The number of fatalities due to the strong earthquake that devastated Sichuan province in southwestern China rose from 74 to 82, according to a new report released Thursday by state media.
Among the dead, 46 were reported in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where the epicenter of the quake is located, and 36 in Ya’an city.
The earthquake, which triggered landslides and shook buildings, injured 270 people.
At least 35 people are missing, two days after the earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, according to the Chinese authorities, and 6.6, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), shook the town of Luding, at 12:52 p.m. (05:52 in Lisbon), on Monday.
Sichuan province, which borders the Tibetan Plateau where tectonic plates meet, is regularly hit by earthquakes. Two earthquakes recorded last June caused at least four deaths.
Monday’s earthquake was felt 200 kilometers away, in the provincial capital Chengdu, where most of the 21 million people are confined to their homes to stem an outbreak of Covid-19.
Chinese state television CCTV showed rescuers pulling a woman from the rubble in the town of Moxi, where many buildings are made of a mixture of wood and brick.
China has deployed more than 6,500 emergency forces, including soldiers, firefighters and medics, and nine helicopters to help rescue efforts.
As of Tuesday, 50,000 people had been evacuated from the affected areas. Authorities also reported that rocks fell from the mountains, causing damage to homes and power outages, according to CCTV.
A landslide blocked a rural road, leaving it littered with rocks, the Emergency Management Ministry said.
Until Wednesday afternoon in China, several aftershocks of magnitude 3 or greater were registered, one of the tremors reached magnitude 4.2, authorities reported.
The Chinese government has already announced 50 million yuan (7.29 million euros) to support salvage and salvage operations.
Source: Observadora
