At least seven dead in magnitude 6.6 earthquake in China

Earthquake of magnitude 6.6, shallow depth in Kangding, China.

Photo:

Geological Service

Earthquake of magnitude 6.6, shallow depth in Kangding, China.

The strong earthquake occurred on Monday in Chengdu province.

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck central Sichuan province at 12:52 p.m. local time on Monday.the China Earthquake Network Center reported today.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 16 kilometers and had its epicenter in Luding county, located about 200 kilometers from the provincial capital, Chengdu, with more than 20 million inhabitants.

According to the scale used by the Chinese seismological authorities, a magnitude 6 earthquake means that most affected people cannot stand stably during the quake and cracks can occur in the walls and the fall of tiles and chimneys.

At the moment, it is known that at least seven people died as a result of the earthquake that shook southwestern China on Monday, according to a first balance established by local authorities and broadcast by public television CCTV.

Sichuan province is located in an area with frequent seismic activity and it was the scene of a catastrophic earthquake in May 2008, of a magnitude of 8 degrees and that left more than 90,000 dead and missing.

In recent weeks, Sichuan has also been hit by a heat wave of unprecedented intensity in decades, a drought that caused power outages in some areas, fires and outbreaks of covid that have led to the confinement of its capital. Since last friday.