China earthquake death toll rises to 149, two still missing after a week

China experienced one of its most powerful earthquakes in recent years, resulting in significant casualties and extensive damage. The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck a remote northwestern region, primarily affecting the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The epicenter of the quake was in an area inhabited by China's Hui people, an ethnic minority with a distinctive Muslim identity.

Gansu Province bore the brunt of the earthquake's impact, with over 200,000 homes destroyed and 15,000 on the verge of collapse. The powerful tremors displaced 145,000 people, causing 117 deaths and injuring 781 in Gansu as of December 22. In Qinghai Province, west of Gansu, 32 people lost their lives, and two individuals remained missing.

Local authorities attributed the severity of the damage to the shallowness of the quake, along with the thrust-type rupture and the relatively soft sedimentary rock in the region, which amplified the destructive power of the tremors. Many of the affected homes, constructed from earth-wood or brick-wood structures, lacked adequate earthquake resistance, contributing to the high casualty count.

The tragedy underscored the urgent need to improve the earthquake resistance of rural homes, especially those in vulnerable areas. Earthquakes are common in provinces along the northeastern boundary of the tectonically active Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, including Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, parts of Xinjiang, and the rugged highlands in the west of Sichuan.

This seismic event recalls previous earthquakes in China, such as the devastating magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Sichuan a decade ago, which resulted in over 160 casualties and more than 6,700 injuries. In 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Yushu, a predominantly Tibetan area in Qinghai, claimed the lives of 2,700 people. The recent earthquake highlights the ongoing challenge of managing seismic risks and improving infrastructure resilience in earthquake-prone regions.