Chinese earthquake measuring 6.1 to 6.5 according to different estimates, killed over 381 people and injured around 1,800 occurred in China's southwestern Yunnan province recently. The Chinese earthquake toppled thousands of buildings in China's southwestern Yunnan province.
According to The Independent, rescuers are still digging through rubble from broken homes desperately searching for survivors due to the Chinese earthquake.
The overall death toll of 381 people was announced Monday morning local time after the Chinese earthquake. However, state broadcaster CCTV said the death toll is expected to continue rising. Over 29,400 people had also been reported evacuated from the region.
BNO News reports that majority of deaths came from Ludian County, which was reportedly located at the epicenter of the quake. According to Ludian authorities, at least 296 people in their jurisdiction were killed after the Chinese earthquake and an estimated 12,000 houses collapsed and some 30,000 were damaged.
Some 429,000 people reportedly reside in Ludian, which is located around 366 kilometers (277 miles) northeast of Yunnan's capital, Kunming.
Qiaojia County also experienced serious damage because of the Chinese earthquake. The county meanwhile recorded another 60 people killed, said China's Civil Affairs Ministry. In Huize County, another ten more people were also killed.
According to the US Geological Survey, the Chinese earthquake was at 6.1 on the Richter scale, although previous reports said it was going to measure 6.3. The China Earthquake Networks Center also said the magnitude of the quake was 6.5.
The Chinese earthquake struck the region at 4:30pm Sunday local time, reports Reuters.
The Chinese earthquake tore down and cracked buildings, thus people were forced to rush into the streets.
According to the Xinhua news agency, electricity and communications services have also been majorly affected.
Xinhua quoted a local official as saying, 'Too many buildings were damaged and we are collecting data on deaths and injuries.'
In the meantime, ABC News reports that many more are still missing after the strong Chinese earthquake struck Yunnan province. The Chinese earthquake in Qiaojia county of Zhaotong prefecture left residents still in search of survivors underneath rubble of buildings and communications and power lines as shown on images shared in social media.
Below are several aftermath photos of the devastation caused by the Chinese earthquake.
Update: Death toll from China quake rises to 381, Premier Li Keqiang on his way to quake zone pic.twitter.com/iNgXqBFKkW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 4, 2014
#Earthquake #China - The first pictures are coming in and they look grim - http://t.co/nSpX370Ibg pic.twitter.com/joH3vKIVJJ — Earthquake Report (@ShakingEarth) August 3, 2014
云南昭通6.5级地震已致26人遇难 有小学生被埋 #云南鲁甸县6.5级地震#【地震已致巧家26人遇难 沙坝村小学有学生被埋！】今 http://t.co/QS9xX40vFX pic.twitter.com/KB7fDBZ8fE
— 中文焦点新闻 (@cnfocus) August 3, 2014
The government reportedly dispatched more than 2,500 soldiers to the Chinese earthquake zone to assist in the rescue. They are equipped with life-detection instruments and digging equipment.
These thousands of soldiers will be joining the 300 or so police and fire fighters already in the area of the Chinese earthquake. They have travelled from Zhaotong to help in the rescue. 400 emergency workers and sniffer dogs were also scattered across the Yunnan province searching for survivors.
However, the BBC reports that aid efforts were held back due to unrelenting rain and persisting landslides which left many roads unusable. Rescuers had no choice but to travel on foot while civil affairs authorities attempted to send 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to Chinese earthquake quake region for those left with no shelter.
Meanwhile, the AFP said temporary medical facilities have also been set up in tents for the treatment of hundreds of survivors. Paramilitary policemen also helped carry injured children and elderly to safety.
The Red Cross Society of China was able to distribute quilts, jackets and tents to those made homeless by the Chinese earthquake. The AP reported that the Red Cross' branches in Hong Kong, Macau and neighboring Sichuan province have sent relief supplies as well.
According to independent website Earth-Quake Report, Yunnan's seismological bureau said the recent Chinese earthquake is the strongest to hit the province in 18 years. Yunnan is reportedly one of the most earthquake-prone provinces in China as the region sits where in an area where Eurasian and Indian plates meet.
In 1970, a magnitude 7.7 Chinese earthquake killed over 15,000 people in Yunnan. According to the AP, another earthquake, this time of the magnitude-7.1, occurred in the province in 1974 and killed not less than 1,400 people.
The last series of quakes to happen in the Yunnan region took place in September 2012. It reportedly killed over 81 people and injured 821.
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said that the UN is ready to 'lend its assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs' and 'to mobilise any international support needed.' Ki-moon also offered 'his condolences to the Chinese government and the families of those killed'.
Chinese earthquake Sunday had the White House also offering its condolences. National Security Council deputy spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said, 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that lost their lives. As with the UN, she added, 'The United States stands ready to assist.'
