At least sixty five people have died and hundreds more have been injured as a result of the earthquake that occurred in China’s Sichuan Province on Monday, according to reports from Chinese state media. This natural disaster occurred in the midst of an increase in cases of Covid, which caused the regional capital city of Chengdu to go into lockdown.
At least 248 people have been wounded and 12 people are still missing after an earthquake with a value of 6.8 on the Richter scale, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
At least 37 people have lost their lives in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Ganzi, which has also had a number of structures destroyed and an interruption in its power supply.
On the outskirts of Ya’an city, which has a population of around 1.4 million people, at least 28 more people have lost their lives.
According to the Associated Press, which cited the state-run broadcaster CCTV as a source, the earthquake has also produced landslides in the area, which has led to further damage being sustained by residences.
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, which is situated around 200 kilometers from the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake, also felt the tremors. The city is now under a strict lockdown owing to an increase in the number of local cases of Covid-19.
According to the Washington Post, certain inhabitants of Chengdu were instructed not to leave their residences while they were experiencing earthquakes as part of China’s zero-COVID policy. The lockdown of Chengdu’s citizens began on September 1 and is part of China’s effort to reduce COVID levels. According to reports, the management of one building advised the tenants that it was “safest” for them to remain inside “no matter how severe the earthquake is.” This goes against the conventional wisdom of what people should do during an earthquake. While the city continues to be sealed off, the authorities are doing extensive mass testing on a big scale in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus in the area. The implementation of pandemic control measures in the middle of a natural catastrophe has infuriated the citizens of the city, who are accusing local officials of placing a higher priority on COVID precautions.
Sichuan was the province that was hit the hardest by China’s recent and deadliest earthquake, which occurred in 2008 and measured 8.0 on the Richter scale and was responsible for the deaths of approximately 90,000. Sichuan has had a terrible year as a result of the drought and record-breaking heat wave that occurred over the summer. These conditions triggered an energy crisis in the province, which is responsible for producing thirty percent of China’s hydroelectric electricity. During the crisis, there were rolling blackouts of electricity for at least two weeks throughout the province. This affected both factories and families.
