A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck northeast China’s Qinghai Province early Saturday May 22, the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) reported. Hours earlier, a first earthquake killed at least two people in Yunnan province, in the southeast of the country.
The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.1, which struck the province of Yunnan, occurred at 9:48 p.m. (3:48 p.m. in Paris). The epicenter, located near the town of Dali, a popular tourist destination, was at a depth of 10 kilometers, the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) said. It was followed by at least two tremors.
At least two people died, including a truck driver, crushed in this mountainous region by a falling rock, local authorities said in a statement. Seventeen other people were injured, they added.
20,000 people evacuated
In Yunnan, more than 20,000 people were evacuated out of 100,000 living in rural communities in this area, according to regional authorities. Some buildings collapsed and others were damaged, according to regional authorities. “The situation is being monitored closely and checks are being made”, they insisted.
Local media released videos showing vases falling from shelves as well as residents running outside after the quake. The Chinese Center for Seismic Networks (CENC) has advised the population to “Stay away from buildings”, in a message posted on the Weibo platform. The quake came less than an hour after a series of smaller tremors, the center said.
Hours later, more than 1,200 km from the first earthquake, another 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck China’s sparsely populated province of Qinghai in the northeast of the country early Saturday morning, a reports the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS).
The epicenter of the Qinghai earthquake, which occurred at 2:04 a.m. on Saturday (Friday 8:04 p.m. in Paris) at a depth of 10 kilometers, was in Maduo County, according to the official China New News Agency. No casualties or damage in this remote region located on the Tibetan plateau were immediately reported.
Several deadly earthquakes
China is regularly hit by earthquakes, especially in its mountainous regions in the west and southwest. A magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2008 devastated Sichuan province in the southwest, leaving 87,000 dead or missing. In February 2003, another 6.8 magnitude earthquake killed 268 people in Xinjiang, also causing extensive property damage.
In 2010, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Qinghai left 3,000 dead or missing. And by October 2014, hundreds of people were injured and more than 100,000 were evacuated after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Yunnan.
This region located on the border with Burma and Laos is very vulnerable to earthquakes, due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates that form the vast mountain range of the Himalayas.
The most violent earthquakes
- Only four earthquakes were recorded with a magnitude greater than 9:
May 22, 1960, in Valvidia (Chile). This earthquake triggered a tsunami killing approximately 5,700 people in Chile, Hawaii and Japan. Its magnitude of 9.52 is the highest on record.
March 27, 1964, off Alaska. A 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska killed 119 people in the United States.
December 26, 2004, in Sumatra and the Indian Ocean. The earthquake occurred off the Indonesian island, with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3. The ensuing tsunami hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and western Thailand. At least 250,000 people are missing.
March 11, 2011, on the Pacific coast of Tohoku (Japan). The epicenter of the 9.1 magnitude earthquake is located about 130 kilometers off the eastern coast, and is followed by a deadly tsunami: 22,500 dead or missing.
- Two other earthquakes, of lesser magnitude, are among the deadliest:
The 1976 earthquake in Tangshan (China), of magnitude 8.2, officially killed 242,419 (three times more according to other sources).
January 12, 2010, in Haiti, a magnitude 7 earthquake and its aftershocks killed more than 200,000 people.