Quake hits northwest China; 75 dead

(CNN) — Rescue teams are scrambling to reach the site of Monday morning’s strong and shallow earthquake in northwest China that has killed at least 75 people, according to state media.
Another 584 people were injured in the quake which tore through Gansu Province, state media reported.
The quake hit along the border of two counties — Min and Zhang — at around 7:45 a.m. local time, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Emergency services are converging on the area, including the Red Cross Society of China, which is sending 200 tents and other supplies to shelter and sustain those left without homes.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged crews to prioritize the rescue of survivors and minimize casualties.
The original quake and powerful aftershocks caused roofs to collapse, cut telecommunications lines and damaged a major highway linking the provincial capital of Lanzhou to the south, according to the China Daily newspaper.
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More than 300 armed police troops and 64 heavy machines have been dispatched to repair National Highway No. 212, the paper reported. Train services in the area have also been suspended.
Rescue efforts are expected to be hampered by heavy rain that’s soaked the region in recent weeks. More rain is forecast and experts have warned about potential landslides.
According to the Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau, the quake registered a magnitude of 6.6, however the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 5.9-magnitude tremor, which struck at the relatively shallow depth of about half a mile (1 kilometer).
The epicenter was eight miles (13 kilometers) east of Chabu and 110 miles (177 kilometers) south-southeast of Lanzhou, the USGS said.
Tremors were still being felt from the quake, Xinhua said, quoting sources within the Min County government. Locals said buildings and trees shook for about a minute.
Residents within the earthquake zone took to Weibo — China’s version of Twitter — soon after to describe how the earth shook.
“This morning at 7:40 I was brushing my teeth, all of a sudden everything shook for a few moments, I thought I didn’t get enough sleep last night and was feeling dizzy,” @wyyy wrote. “Turns out it was an earthquake, sigh, seems that with the huge rain downpour outside, we really don’t know how much longer this planet is going to let us live here.”
Another, @dengdjianjyany, said: “Gansu earthquake. So many natural disasters in so short a time, another flood, another landslide, another earthquake, another something. And it’s not finished, my God ~ is there any safe place left? Wish everybody a life of peace”
@Heidiping: “Another earthquake, life really is fragile, survivors, be at peace!”

 

8.9 quake strikes Japan, triggers tsunami

Japanese television is showing horrific pictures of a wall of water swallowing everything in its path following a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan.

The quake has triggered a tsunami already that’s washing away cars and houses inland in the north-east of the country. Television showed cars bobbing in water alongside fishing boats.

A 10-metre tsunami warning has been extended for the coast in the region.

The tsunami warning was issued to most of the Pacific coast of the main island of Honshu, broadcaster NHK reported. People are being told to get to higher ground.

The quake was initially listed as 7.9 magnitude, then upgraded to 8.8, then 8.9 by US Geological Survey. A series of aftershocks followed including one of around 7 magnitude.

The epicentre of the quake is believed to be in the north of Japan, in the Honshu area.

The quake caused buildings to shake in the capital Tokyo, triggering at least one building fire, NHK television and witnesses reported. Around four million homes are without power in Tokyo, and several people have been buried in a landslide.

Many sections of Tohoku expressway serving northern Japan are damaged and there is a major fire at Chiba refinery near Tokyo.

The BBC is reporting it as a “mega-quake”.

Narita airport, Tokyo’s main airport, has been closed. A number of people are believed to have been injured during a graduation ceremony in Tokyo when a roof collapsed.

The public broadcaster showed black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country have been halted.

“The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks,” Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said.

“It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago.”

The US Geological Survey verified a magnitude of 8.8 at depth of 24.3kms and located the quake 130.3kms east of Sendai, Honshu. The stock market extended its losses after the quake.

Japan’s northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.

There are believed to be 3500 New Zealanders in Japan, and 1600 in Tokyo.

Civil Defence in New Zealand says a tsunami is possible in New Zealand, but it is still monitoring the situation and it would be 11 hours away.

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