A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province on Monday, according to the United States Institute of Geological Survey (USGS) – the world’s benchmark organization for earthquakes.
The epicenter is in Luding Township, an area of valleys, rushing rivers and narrow roads on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, about 200 kilometers west of the provincial capital Chengdu.
Forty people died in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze and 34 in the neighboring township of Shimian, the People’s Daily, the newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reported on Wednesday.
More than 21,000 people have been evacuated from areas prone to landslides or building collapse, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Rescuers are still trying to reach isolated villages to help the inhabitants and find potential survivors. Dozens of people are still believed to be stranded or missing.
“My head was stuck between two columns and my legs between tables,” a woman stranded for nearly five hours in a collapsed hotel in the town of Moxi, badly affected by the earthquake, told provincial media Red Star News.
“I was forced to lie down in a certain position. I was resigned,” she added.
“I thought of my children, wondering if their school had collapsed. I imagined them trapped inside, crying and calling out to me for help.”
Monday’s tremor also shook buildings in the provincial capital Chengdu, whose 21 million people are currently confined to their homes due to an outbreak of Covid-19.
At least 13 aftershocks of magnitude 3 or greater have been recorded since the first quake, according to the China Seismic Network Center (CENC).
In addition to several hundred firefighters, nearly 2,000 soldiers are mobilized to help the population and participate in the relief, according to the army.
In particular, they have set up numerous makeshift camps, made up of tents, to accommodate residents who cannot return to their destroyed or weakened homes.
