A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck China’s mountainous Sichuan province on Monday, killing at least 66 persons, reported Reuters.
The earthquake struck about 40 kilometres from Luding county, The Global Times reported. The county is situated on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau where tectonic plates meet making it prone to earthquakes. Seven earthquakes of more than 2.8 magnitude hit Sichuan within one hour on Monday.
The effects of the earthquake were felt in the provincial capital Chengdu, which is 200 kilometres from the epicentre.
The earthquake triggered landslides and damaged buildings leaving many trapped inside the rubble, reported The Global Times. More than 50,000 residents have been relocated so far and search for the missing ones is underway, according to Sichuan authorities.
Videos from Sichuan province show stones and sand rolling down from the mountains. The traffic movement was hampered due to the rubble. Power connection and communication lines were snapped in villages near the epicentre.
The local meteorological department has said that Luding county will get rains which could interfere with rescue efforts, reported Al Jazeera.
Sichuan is already facing a drought. The water levels at hydropower reservoirs have been halved in a month, according to the Sichuan Provincial Department of Economics and Information Technology, reported the Associated Press
The reduced hydropower generation in Sichuan has led to curbs on industrial power consumption, reported Reuters.
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