China • Gansu Earthquake
Situation Report No. 2
23 July 2013
The UN China Situation Report on the Gansu Earthquake is produced by the UN Disaster Management Team in China.
Key Facts on the earthquake at the junction of the Minxian County and Zhangxian County, Gansu of China
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake occurred at the junction of the Minxian County and Zhangxian County, Gansu Province of China, at 07.45 AM on 22 July, Monday, with a depth of about 20 km.
The epicenter is calculated to be 34.5 north and 104.2 east, which is about 15 km from the Minxian County, 45 km from the Zhangxian County, 120 km from the Dingxi City and 170 km from Lanzhou, Gansu’s provincial capital.
As of 10.00 am, 23 July, 562 aftershocks are recorded and 7 aftershocks are 3.0 magnitudes and above, including 1 time from 5.0 to 5.9 magnitudes and 6 times from 3.0 to 3.9 magnitudes, the highest being 5.6 magnitude.
Secondary disasters such as landslides continued to occur, leading to disastrous impacts. Heavy rain continues to be forecasted to hit the quake-hit areas and a red rainstorm warning has been issued by the local observatory. Experts warn people to avoid steep mountains due to possible landslides and aftershocks.
Casualties, damages and loss
As of 23 July 2013, 94 people died and 887 are injured. One person remains missing. 225,000 people were urgently relocated. 123,000 people are affected.
123,000 houses have collapsed or been severely damaged, while 138,000 houses are damaged to varying degrees, leading to direct economic loss of 3.94 billion RMB.
Infrastructure wise, local roads were badly damaged. The quake led to a cut off of power to 14,066 households in Dingxi City. As of 4pm, 22 July, half are restored.
Road conditions of National Highway 212 and Provincial Highway 306, both of which run through the quake-hit Dingxi City, have been restored to normal after landslide cleanup efforts, according to the Ministry of Transport.
Government Response & Relief
President Xi Jinping has communicated with the quake zone. Premier Li Keqiang and Vice Premier Wang Yang have outlined detailed relief requirements.
The China Earthquake Administration has activated level 2 earthquake emergency response and dispatched a 50-person emergency response team led by its Vice Director.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs of China (MoCA) and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction have upgraded their level 4 disaster relief response to level 3, and dispatched teams to the quake zone to provide guidance for relief work.
MoCA has dispatched 10,000 tents, 30,000 quilts, 5,000 foldable beds and 10,000 sleeping bags. As of 23 July, the National Health and Family Planning Commission has dispatched 5 medical teams consisting of 34 medical and disease prevention experts to the disaster affected areas. Over 2,000 armed police and military have arrived in the quake zone to conduct relief activities. The Gansu Provincial government has activated level 2 earthquake response. An earthquake relief guiding unit and an on-site relief guiding unit have been formed. Secretary of Gansu Provincial Party Committee of the CPC Wang Sanyun and Gansu Provincial Governor Liu Weiping have arrived in the quake zone to guide relief efforts.
The Gansu Provincial government has allocated 5 million RMB emergency relief grant and dispatched 1,600 tents, 4,400 quilts, 2,000 foldable beds, 20,000 boxes of instant noodles and 20,000 boxes of drinking water.
Relief teams of over 3,000 people from the police, health, transportation sectors have been sent to the quake zone. As of 12pm 22 July, 520 fire fighters from 7 teams, as well as 70 relief vehicles and 9,000 relief instruments, are also sent to the disaster affected areas.
Staff have been sent to monitor secondary disasters in the quake zone.
For more information please contact:
UN Resident Coordinator in China, Renata Lok-Dessalien
renata.dessallien@undp.org