China earthquake: death toll climbs to 74 as Sichuan authorities restrict entry to disaster zone

35 people are still missing as health authorities report new Covid-19 infections
Heavy rainfall expected in the region after severe damage from landslides

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Mimi Lau

Published: 7:00pm, 7 Sep 2022

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China’s Sichuan province banned unauthorised people entry to earthquake zones and imposed daily testing as it struggled to battle Covid-19 while rescue work continued for the third day.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake, which had an epicentre in Luding county about 260km (162 miles) from the provincial capital Chengdu, was felt across five provinces on Monday. At least 74 people were confirmed dead as of Wednesday, with 35 people reported missing and 270 others injured. About 1,000 people were trapped by a dammed lake that had formed after the earthquake.

02:06

Mother uses body to protect child with SMA in Sichuan earthquake

Public health authorities in the southwestern Chinese province also reported 157 new Covid-19 infections as of the end of Tuesday, compared with 138 the day before.

The disaster has prompted the authorities to place Luding county and the nearby tourist hotspot of Hailuogou under temporary restrictions, according to a directive by the Ganzi prefecture emergency command centre for Covid-19. No unauthorised entry is allowed for people and vehicles, including members of the public volunteering for rescue efforts.

Soldiers clear debris to search for survivors after an earthquake in Sichuan province September 6. The quake came as the region continues to battle a drought and recent Covid-19 outbreaks. Photo: AP

Entry permits issued to rescue personnel must be accompanied by a negative PCR test result within 24 hours, a green health code, and no travel history in cities with Covid-19 cases, according to the notice. Rescuers must be tested for Covid-19 every 24 hours.

Quake survivors must also undergo daily Covid-19 testing, show their travel history and register visits to indoor or crowded places with an app. Local residents returning to the quake zone must submit additional approval papers from the local community authorities.

01:55

Footage shows quick evacuation of Chinese kindergarten amid deadly earthquake in Sichuan

Tourist and public recreation facilities, schools and religious venues are closed.

Of the 74 dead, 40 victims were from the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture and 34 were residents of the city of Yaan in the west of the province, Xinhua reported.

The earthquake levelled a large area of housing in a township in Luding.

Local weather forecasters said they expected heavy rainfall in the quake zone over the next three days.

Chinese province of Sichuan warns of ‘particularly severe’ power shortages

Severe landslides caused by the earthquake in the mountainous region blocked two rivers, forming a dammed lake. About 1,000 people from Wandong and Ziyachang villages have been trapped as a result, local media reported.

The earthquake has seen 13,232 residents displaced and another 10,657 residents evacuated to safer places. Nearly 7,000 rescuers have been deployed to the disaster zone, state media CCTV reported.

The landslides also caused heavy damage to the provincial highway network, blocking roads, bridges and passageways.

‘Crazy hot’ temperatures in Sichuan result in rolling blackouts, power curbs

Sichuan province, which has been battling a prolonged drought throughout the summer, is situated along a major seismic fault line at the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

In 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake centred in Wenchuan killed hundreds of thousands of people and flattened entire villages. The region also saw two deadly magnitude 7.0 earthquakes in 2013 and 2017.