6.6 quake in China’s Gansu province kills 89, levels homes
BEIJING — A magnitude 6.6 earthquake in north-central China on Monday killed at least 89 people, injured more than 500 and left five missing, and heavy rains were impeding rescue efforts in some towns, state-run media reported.
About 3,000 soldiers, firefighters and other rescue personnel were dispatched to the affected area in Gansu province after the 7:45 a.m. quake, the official New China News Agency said. More than 400 aftershocks had been reported by midafternoon.
Photos from the region, southeast of the provincial capital, Lanzhou, showed brick homes collapsed and others buried up to their roofs by landslides triggered by the temblor. More than 1,200 homes collapsed and an additional 21,000 were damaged, local officials estimated.
Muddy roads were impeding rescue vehicles and the threat of heavy showers Monday night left survivors scrambling to find shelter. Downpours on Sunday triggered landslides that closed a key rail line in the region.
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