Deadly Earthquake Hits China’s Southwestern Sichuan Province

A powerful earthquake rocked a mountainous region of China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Monday. At least 46 people are dead, in the latest problems mounting for the province hit by historic drought and Covid lockdowns. 

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Luding county in western Sichuan, about 120 miles west of the provincial capital of Chengdu, reported China Earthquake Administration. 

Videos posted on social media showed damaged building structures and landslides.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck the Sichuan Province of China this afternoon. The epicenter of the quake is located at a town of Luding at a depth of 16 km.
Seven people have lost their lives so far. Further reports of the damages are are awaited. pic.twitter.com/lQMm0R0eVK

— Dil Bahadur Pakwal (@dil_pakwal) September 5, 2022

September 5, 2022CGTN Chinese President #XiJinping has stressed that saving people’s lives should be the top priority for disaster relief work in the quake-hit areas in Sichuan Province. #China President Xi stresses saving lives as top priority for quake relief in #Sichuan #World pic.twitter.com/9anbTO1eYU

— long chen 陈 龙🐲🇨🇳🐲 (@HongLong_Chen) September 5, 2022

BREAKING 🇨🇳 : A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted #Luding County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province Monday.
♦️The tremor was felt in Chengdu, the capital of #Sichuan.
#China #EarthQuake pic.twitter.com/UsYxM4CyEw

— Zaid Ahmd  (@realzaidzayn) September 5, 2022

🇨🇳CHINA

🚨Preliminar. #Sismo de magnitud 6.6 en 🇨🇳#China. Se localiza en Western #Sichuan y tuvo una profundidad de 10 kilómetros. Hay altas probabilidades de daños y víctimas pic.twitter.com/GX8IMJBj0I

— Noticias 507 y El Mundo (@agrimensuraferg) September 5, 2022

Various types of infrastructure, such as roads and power lines, also appear to be damaged. 

At least 6.8 magnitude #earthquake on the Richter scale jolts China’s southwestern Sichuan province. The epicenter of this catastrophe is about 43 kilometers (27 miles) southeast of Kangding city. #BreakingNews #China #Sichuan pic.twitter.com/p9aWgWmVma

— TheBlogger (@Thebloggerinfo) September 5, 2022

A 6.8-magnitude #earthquake jolted #Luding county in Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in #Sichuan province at 12:52 pm on Monday. A total of 21 people were killed and 30 were injured. pic.twitter.com/O5Cer0Fd9f

— BeijingNews 新京报 (@BJNewsWorld) September 5, 2022

At least 46 people killed after strong earthquake hits China’s Sichuan province – Xinhua pic.twitter.com/0ij0qySBd0

— BNO News (@BNONews) September 5, 2022

Tremors were felt in Chengdu, a megacity with 21 million people currently under Covid lockdown. Besides lockdowns, the metro area has already faced power rationings due to drought and heatwaves this summer. 

A question we have: When an earthquake strikes, can those under mandatory Covid lockdown exit their homes or condos to avoid danger?

Sichuan is located on a major fault and is considered one of the country’s most highly active quake areas. In 2008, Chengdu was hit by a devastating 8.2 magnitude quake, leaving more than 69,000 dead.