Beijing [China], September 28: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Gansu province in northwestern China on the morning of September 27, injuring at least 11 people and collapsing 17 houses, according to the South China Morning Post.
The earthquake occurred in Longxi County, southeast of Gansu Province, at 5:49 a.m. on September 27 (local time), at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the South China Morning Post on the evening of September 27, citing an announcement from the China Earthquake Networks Center.
In the next two hours, 42 aftershocks were recorded, including two with magnitudes ranging from 4.0 to 4.9, according to China Central Television (CCTV). The aftershocks were felt in nearby areas, including the Gansu provincial capital Lanzhou, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) to the northwest.
Some social media users said high waves were felt as far away as Xi'an, the capital of neighboring Shaanxi province, about 400 km to the east.
Rescue teams said the earthquake on the morning of September 27 injured 11 people, collapsed 17 houses and damaged nearly 4,000 others, according to CCTV. According to Xinhua, the earthquake damaged more than 4,300 houses and evacuated nearly 8,000 people.
According to China's Ministry of Emergency Management, the central government has activated a level 4 earthquake emergency response, the lowest in a four-tier system, and deployed a working group to the quake zone.
Gansu lies on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau and is one of China 's most earthquake-prone areas , according to the South China Morning Post .
In 2023, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in Gansu's Jishishan County killed 151 people. It was China's deadliest earthquake since 2014, when 617 people died in Yunnan Province, according to the South China Morning Post .
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
