At least 86 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after a strong earthquake struck China’s northwest region of Gansu province Sunday night.
The 6.6 magnitude quake, larger than the 6.3 magnitude quake that struck the same region in 2013, was centered about 190 miles southeast of the city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu, near the city of Dingxi.
The epicenter of the quake is in one of the most sparsely populated parts of China, but several towns along the borders of Gansu, Sichuan, and Shaanxi provinces experienced heavy destruction.
Nearly 2000 homes were destroyed in two villages in Min county in Dingxi, and the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue. Hundreds of people were injured, and those who survived remain in desperate need of medical attention and assistance.
Officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs say that many of the homes in the remotely-located areas are not “earthquake-proof”, making the destruction even more severe.
In response to the crisis, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the country’s emergency response teams to the region to prevent further casualties and to provide relief to those affected. Meanwhile, the Chinese Red Cross has deployed its disaster response teams and is providing medical assistance.
This tragedy serves as another reminder of the need for proper building inspections to ensure that homes in earthquake-prone areas are able to withstand seismic activity. Additionally, environment protection agencies and emergency response teams need to play a larger role before, during, and after a disaster in order to better protect communities and provide immediate assistance to those affected.