Deadly Earthquake Strikes Northwest China

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Facts

• At least 131 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a (PRC-reported) 6.2-magnitude earthquake in northwestern China late Monday. Authorities say that infrastructure such as electricity, water, and transportation systems were damaged.¹
• The earthquake hit close to midnight (local time) on Monday, in the Gansu province near the border with Qinghai — causing significant damage to both provinces. The epicenter of the quake struck in a remote mountainous region that is one of the poorest areas of China; the quake triggered landslides leading to an entire village being partially buried in silt.²
• Thousands of structures were damaged, sending residents outside to freezing temperatures. Chinese state media has called the rescue efforts a 'race against time,' as a cold front sweeps across China, with temperatures reported as low as -14ºC (6.8F) on Tuesday morning in the devastated high-altitude region.³
• More than 4K firefighters, soldiers, and police officers were dispatched to the area or placed on standby to contribute to the rescue effort. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for 'all-out efforts' to find and rescue those trapped by the strong earthquake.³
• Power and water supplies have been disrupted across the region. China’s Finance Ministry and Emergency Management Ministry have allotted 200M yuan — equivalent to $28M USD — in natural disaster relief funds to help the two regions hardest hit by the earthquake.⁴
• The earthquake is the deadliest to hit China in nearly a decade since 600 people were killed in the southwestern province of Yunnan in 2014. Nearly 90K people were killed in 2008 when a 7.9 earthquake hit the Sichuan province.⁴

Sources: ¹USA Today, ²Al Jazeera, ³Guardian and ⁴CNN.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. Poor construction and a lack of resources set this remote region of China up for disaster. Unfortunately, many of the buildings in the area were not built to withstand earthquakes. As a consequence, the response and road to recovery will be extremely challenging.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Xinhua. The PRC government is going all out in its rescue efforts following this disastrous earthquake. China has developed state-of-the-art disaster relief systems including highly-trained personnel and vital equipment. This is a tragedy that is being addressed by the full weight of these robust capabilities.

Predictions