A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck a remote area of China's Xinjiang province on Tuesday, killing 3 people and injuring 5 others, while damaging hundreds of buildings.
The earthquake caused severe damage amid freezing temperatures, but the loss of life and property was relatively minor, due to the small population in the epicenter area in Ochturbahn district, near the border with Kazakhstan.
Footage shown by China Central Television on Wednesday showed quake-affected evacuees eating instant noodles in tents next to heating fires, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake struck a sparsely populated area that includes groups of scattered towns and villages, amid harsh winter weather. A highway extends from the city of Aksu, about 125 kilometers to the region, through frozen areas on one side and rocky outcrops on the other.
In the Kyrgyz Kyrgyz province, the earthquake caused varying degrees of damage to 851 buildings, the collapse of 93 buildings near the epicenter and the killing of 910 heads of livestock, according to the deputy party secretary of the province, Rosyali Hakseiherbai.
The province deployed more than 2,300 rescuers, and evacuated 7,338 residents. A total of 12,426 people were evacuated.
Rescue teams combed through the rubble while rescue equipment, including coats and tents, arrived to help thousands fleeing their homes.
“This rating of 7.1 is very strong, but the deaths and injuries are not serious,” Zhang Yongjiu, head of the Xinjiang Earthquake Administration, said at a press conference.
He added that the epicenter of the earthquake was in a mountainous area at an altitude of about 3,000 meters above sea level.
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