The death toll in a powerful earthquake in southwest China rose to 82, state media reported on Thursday, as rain and possible mudslides threatened the search for dozens of missing people.
The 6.6-magnitude quake struck Monday about 43 kilometers (26 miles) southeast of the city of Kangding in Sichuan province at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey, and forced thousands to relocate to makeshift camps.
State broadcaster CCTV said 46 people died in Ganzi Prefecture near the epicenter, while 36 deaths were reported in the neighboring city of Ya’an.
More than 270 were injured while the number of missing remained at 35, CCTV reported.
The National Weather Service said moderate rain will continue in the quake-hit area Thursday and Friday, with some local heavy showers.
“Since the post-earthquake geological conditions are inherently fragile and the impact of additional rainfall may lead to landslides and mudslides, the local area needs to be wary of secondary disasters,” the China Weather Administration said.
The People’s Liberation Army, paramilitary police and fire departments dispatched more than 10,000 workers to the area to continue searching and clearing up landslides in the remote countryside.
– mountain streams –
Rescuers braved flash floods and landslides caused by aftershocks to extricate villagers from destroyed homes, often dragging them through mountainous terrain on ropes and stretchers.
“We also waded through the water to get to Xingfu Village. The mountain streams contain rocks…the rocks that you can’t see in the water pose the greatest threat to us,” a rescue team member named Tan Ke told CCTV.
“We quickly used rope to build a human ladder…when we started wading, the water reached our knees and thighs. By the time we got to a safe place, the flash flood had reached waist height.”
Over 22,000 people have been relocated to 124 temporary shelters in Ganzi and Ya’an so far, state-run newspaper People’s Daily reported.
According to the newspaper, over 21,000 students and staff at a school in Shimian County, where Ya’an is located, were safely evacuated within a minute of the tremor.
Nearly 1,800 schools in the region had reopened by Wednesday, she added.
Workers raced to repair hundreds of kilometers of power and fiber optic cables, with communications in affected areas “basically restored” on Thursday, the China Youth Daily reported.
Local authorities have received over 100 million yuan ($14 million) in disaster relief donations so far, the report said.
The quake also shook buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu – where millions are confined in their homes under a strict Covid-19 lockdown – and in the nearby megacity of Chongqing, residents told AFP.
