Magnitude-6.2 quake kills 118 in northwestern China's Gansu

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake jolted a remote and mountainous county on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau just before midnight on Monday, killing at least 118 people and injuring hundreds, according to Chinese state media.

Authorities have mobilised an array of emergency responses, but rescue work could prove challenging in subzero temperatures. Most of China is grappling with freezing temperatures as a cold wave that started last week continued to sweep through the country.

20 people have been reported missing in the quake's aftermath after hours of rescue and relief efforts that began before sunrise, according to state media.

Earthquakes are common in western provinces such as Gansu, which lie on the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, a tectonically active area. China's deadliest quake in recent decades was in 2008 when a magnitude-8.0 temblor struck Sichuan, killing nearly 70,000 people.

The epicentre of the latest quake was 5 km from the border between Gansu and a neighbouring province. Strong tremors were felt in many parts of Qinghai province, the official Xinhua news agency said.

About 2,200 rescue personnel from the provincial fire department and 900 from the forest brigade, as well as 260 professional emergency rescue personnel, were dispatched to the disaster zone, Xinhua reported, adding that the military and police were also engaged in rescue work.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management upgraded its earthquake emergency response to second-highest level, Xinhua reported. Its national health commission sent a team of medical experts and coordinated emergency teams from other provinces.

The province, which has allocated 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) to the local government for emergency response work, also sent supplies that included 2,600 cotton tents, 10,400 folding beds, 10,400 quilts, 10,400 cotton mattresses, and 1,000 sets of stoves.

Local authorities have also imposed traffic restrictions into Jishishan for until rescue work is done, CCTV said. Social volunteers are requested not to enter the disaster zone as well, local media said.

As the disaster area is in a high-altitude region where the weather is cold, rescue efforts are working to prevent secondary disasters caused by factors beyond the quake, Xinhua said.

The temperature in Linxia, Gansu, near where the quake occurred, was about minus 14 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning. The weather was the largest difficulty in the rescue efforts, local media said, citing a local disaster response expert.

Although the 72 hours after a quake are the most likely time to rescue survivors, that will be shortened by the harsh weather, with trapped victims facing the higher risk, it said. Some water, electricity, transportation, communications and other infrastructure have been damaged but officials provided no further details.