2013 Dingxi earthquakes
  | |
| UTC time | ?? |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | Ms 6.6 (CENC)[1] Mw 5.9 (USGS)[2] Mw 6.0 (EMSC)[3] |
| Depth | 20 kilometres (12 mi) |
| Epicenter | 34°30′N 104°12′E / 34.5°N 104.2°E |
| Areas affected | China |
| Casualties | 95 dead, 1000+ injured (as of 23:00 CST, 23 July 2013)[4] |
| Dingxi earthquakes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 定西地震 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 定西地震 | ||||||
| |||||||
On 22 July 2013, a series of earthquakes occurred in Dingxi, Gansu. The first quake struck at 07:54 China Standard Time with the epicenter located at the border of Min County and Zhang County.[1] The magnitude of the initial earthquake was placed at Ms 6.6 by the China Earthquake Data Center with a focal depth of 20.0 kilometres (12 mi).[1] It was measured at Mw 5.9 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)[2] and Mw 6.0 by the European Alert System.[3] Another strong quake occurred about one hour later, measured at 5.6 magnitude by the USGS.[5] As of 18:00 CST (10:00 UTC), 22 July 2013, 422 aftershocks have been recorded.[4] The earthquakes were also felt in the nearby cities of Tianshui and Lanzhou in Gansu, as well as Xi'an, Baoji, and Xianyang in neighbouring Shaanxi.[4]
As of 23:00 CST, 23 July 2013, the earthquakes have caused at least 95 deaths, and over 1000 people have been injured.[4]
Background
The tremor occurred less than 14 kilometres (9 mi) from the Lintan-Dangchang fault line (Chinese: 临潭-宕昌断裂带). Since recorded history 25 earthquakes of more than 5.0 magnitude have occurred within a 200-km radius from the current epicenter, the earliest being the 193 BC Lintao earthquake which measured at 6.5 magnitude, while the strongest was the 8.0-magnitude 1654 Tianshui earthquake.[6]
Effects
Most of the casualties occurred in Min County, located 15 kilometers from the epicenter,[6] which reported 87 deaths.[4]
According to Gansu provincial officials, more than 1,200 buildings have collapsed and over 21,000 severely damaged. Many local buildings, often crudely constructed, were buried in the landslides caused by the earthquakes. Within the disaster zone, 20% of the buildings have collapsed and 60% are damaged. 27,360 people are estimated to have been displaced in Zhang County alone.[7]
Communication was cut off to 13 townships in Zhang County and many villages in Meichuan, Min County. Five towns in eastern Min County have lost power.[4]
Aftershocks
| Date and time(CST) | Geographic coordinates | Magnitude | Aftershock depth(km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 22, 2013 07:54:09 | 34°30′N 104°12′E / 34.5°N 104.2°E | 3.4 | 7 |
| July 22, 2013 08:06:38 | 34°30′N 104°12′E / 34.5°N 104.2°E | 3.0 | 7 |
| July 22, 2013 08:09:43 | 34°30′N 104°12′E / 34.5°N 104.2°E | 3.9 | 6 |
| July 22, 2013 08:16:45 | 34°30′N 104°12′E / 34.5°N 104.2°E | 3.3 | 10 |
| July 22, 2013 09:12:34 | 34°36′N 104°12′E / 34.6°N 104.2°E | 5.6 | 14 |
| July 22, 2013 09:23:28 | 34°36′N 104°12′E / 34.6°N 104.2°E | 3.0 | 7 |
| July 22, 2013 15:28:08 | 34°30′N 104°12′E / 34.5°N 104.2°E | 3.7 | 7 |
| July 23, 2013 16:46:46 | 34°36′N 104°12′E / 34.6°N 104.2°E | 3.1 | 7 |
- Source:[8]
Relief efforts
On the day of the earthquakes, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered “all-out rescue efforts”. By afternoon the two top leaders of Gansu Province, Communist Party Chief Wang Sanyun and Governor Liu Weiping, along with 1,800 police officers and local officials, had arrived in the earthquake-stricken area. The People's Liberation Army's Lanzhou Military Region, which is headquartered 230 kilometers from the disaster zone, had sent 1,078 troops to join the relief efforts by mid-afternoon.[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "甘肃省定西市岷县、漳县交界发生6.6级地震" (in Chinese). China Earthquake Networks Center. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ a b "M5.9 - 13km E of Chabu, China (BETA)". USGS. 22 July 2013.
- ^ a b "M 6.0 - GANSU, CHINA - 2013-07-21 23:45:57 UTC". EMSC. 22 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "89 dead, 5 missing in NW China quake". Xinhua News Agency. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ "China's Gansu province hit by powerful earthquakes". BBC. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ a b "2013年7月22日甘肃省定西市岷县、漳县交界6.6级地震情况通报". China Earthquake Network Center. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ "Rescuers rush to find earthquake victims in Gansu". South China Morning Post. 22 July, 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ 中國地震台網
- ^ "Earthquakes Hit Area of Northwestern China". New York Times. 22 July, 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
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