No casualties as over 35,000 evacuated after earthquakes hit Qinghai

No casualties were reported, and more than 35,000 people were relocated after two earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5.0 struck Xinghai County in Northwest China's Qinghai province on Tuesday. Over 700 emergency personnel were deployed as of Wednesday, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The magnitude-5.7 and magnitude-5.8 earthquakes hit the county in Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture at 11:16 am and 11:34 am, respectively. Authorities at several levels immediately activated a Level III emergency response following the tremors.

More than 700 personnel from emergency management, public security, firefighting departments, and the armed police and local militia were mobilized for rescue and relief operations, according to Xinghai county authorities.

Preliminary inspections showed that the epicenters were near two local villages, both located in summer grazing areas. Homes, roads, and other infrastructure across the county sustained varying degrees of damage, but no deaths or injuries were reported, county authorities said.

By Wednesday morning, all residents in the two villages closest to the epicenters had been evacuated to safe areas, with relief supplies distributed in an orderly manner.

A total of 35,086 people were relocated across the county, while 120 temporary shelters and 917 tents were set up. The county's three emergency reserve sites held supplies including 210 metric tons of flour, according to authorities.

Relief materials were sufficient at the resettlement sites, affected residents remained calm, and rescue and accommodation work proceeded in an orderly manner, they added.

Qiu Haichao, deputy director of Xinghai county's emergency management bureau, told local media that earthquake early-warning pop-up alerts and public broadcasts were used immediately after the tremors. Community grid workers visited households to issue warnings, while village officials organized residents to evacuate, he said.

The government of Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, which administers Xinghai county, said Wednesday that the overall situation in the earthquake-hit area was stable and public order remained calm and orderly.

By Wednesday, the prefecture's earthquake relief headquarters had transported 5,686 items in 10 categories to the affected area, including tents, quilts, drinking water, food, emergency lighting equipment, and rescue tools.

The prefecture government also warned that the earthquakes had loosened soil and rock formations, while persistent heavy rainfall was increasing the risk of landslides and other secondary disasters.

Authorities will carry out comprehensive inspections of earthquake-damaged homes, unstable mountain slopes, roads near mountains and cliffs, water conservancy facilities, construction sites, and areas already identified as geological hazard risks, the prefecture government said.

The inspections aim to prevent earthquake-related secondary disasters from overlapping with flooding and other hazards caused by the continuing rainfall, it said.

No casualties were reported, and more than 35,000 people had been relocated after two above-magnitude-5.0 earthquakes struck Xinghai county in Northwest China's Qinghai province on Tuesday, with over 700 emergency personnel deployed as of Wednesday, local authorities said.

The magnitude-5.7 and magnitude-5.8 earthquakes hit the county in Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture at 11:16 am and 11:34 am, respectively. Authorities at several levels immediately activated a Level III emergency response following the tremors.

More than 700 personnel from emergency management, public security and firefighting departments, as well as the armed police and local militia, were mobilized for rescue and relief operations, the authorities in Xinghai county said.

Preliminary inspections showed that the epicenters were near two local villages, and both were located in summer grazing areas. Homes, roads and other infrastructure across the county sustained varying degrees of damage, but no deaths or injuries had been reported, the county authorities said.

By Wednesday morning, all residents in the two villages closest to the epicenters had been evacuated to safe areas, with relief supplies being distributed in an orderly manner.

A total of 35,086 people had been relocated across the county, while 120 temporary shelters and 917 tents had been set up. The county's three emergency reserve sites held supplies including 210 metric tons of flour, according to the authorities.

Relief materials were sufficient at the resettlement sites, affected residents remained calm, and rescue and accommodation work was proceeding in an orderly manner, they added.

Qiu Haichao, deputy director of Xinghai county's emergency management bureau, told local media that earthquake early-warning pop-up alerts and public broadcasts were used immediately after the tremors.

Community grid workers also visited households to issue warnings, while village officials organized residents to evacuate, he said.

The government of Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, which administers Xinghai county, said Wednesday that the overall situation in the earthquake-hit area was stable and public order remained calm and orderly.

By Wednesday, the prefecture's earthquake relief headquarters had transported 5,686 items in 10 categories to the affected area, including tents, quilts, drinking water, food, emergency lighting equipment and rescue tools.

The prefecture government also warned that the earthquakes had loosened soil and rock formations, while persistent heavy rainfall was increasing the risk of landslides and other secondary disasters.

Authorities will carry out comprehensive inspections of earthquake-damaged homes, unstable mountain slopes, roads near mountains and cliffs, water conservancy facilities, construction sites and areas already identified as geological hazard risks, the prefecture government said.

The inspections are intended to prevent earthquake-related secondary disasters from overlapping with flooding and other hazards caused by the continuing rainfall, it said.