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Phoebe Zhang

Damaged roads, aftershocks, rain and the threat of landslides are hindering rescue efforts in China’s southwestern Sichuan province after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit on Monday, leaving 66 dead, more than 250 people injured and at least 15 missing.
Hotel workers at a national park tourist site and staff at a sub-branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences where an observatory collapsed were among those killed in the disaster.


The tremor, which hit at 12.52pm, had its epicentre near a tourist centre in Luding county, about 260km (161 miles) from the provincial capital of Chengdu.
By 2pm on Tuesday, the death toll included 38 people from Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture and 28 people from Shimian county, Yaan. Some 15 people remained missing.
More than 6,500 rescuers and doctors were sent to the scene, state broadcaster CCTV reported, and four helicopters and two drones were sent to Luding and Shimian counties, two of the hardest-hit areas.
About 50,000 people were relocated and more than 3,400 tents, 12,000 foldable beds and sheets were sent to the area, local authorities said.

The possibility of a rainstorm and rough road conditions added to difficulties for search and rescue teams. The local weather bureau forecast rain for the next two days – with the temperature expected to drop as low as 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) – while warning of possible landslides and other geological disasters.
On Tuesday afternoon, Garze authorities said emergency teams were repairing roads and telecommunication cables, as well as checking houses, bridges, roads, factories and other venues for potential risks.

As search and rescue efforts continued, those injured in the quake were taken to hospitals or treated on the spot. Sixteen public health experts were sent to the area to monitor drinking water as well as the coronavirus outbreak. A task force in Luding and Shimian counties was established to conduct mass testing.
Rivers and dams in the province were being monitored, the provincial water resources department said on Tuesday. A tributary of the Dadu River was “crippled” after the earthquake and people living downstream were told to relocate, the department said. The nature of damage to the tributary is not known.
Since the earthquake, there have been more than 10 aftershocks measuring between 3 and 4.2 in magnitude.


According to CCTV, the only road into the Hailuogou National Geological Park, a popular tourist destination, is blocked and about 200 people remain trapped inside. A team of 15 rescuers and an excavator have been sent to aid their rescue.
Villagers close to Hailuogou told Caixin magazine they needed medicine and water. Meanwhile, many reported not being able to sleep at night because of the aftershocks.
One villager in Moxi, about 2km (1.24 miles) from the national park, said phone reception remained poor, leaving residents to communicate with other villages by walkie-talkie. The villager said they badly needed tents and other necessities.
“Young people can get by, but we’re worried that the elderly and children have nowhere to sleep at night,” the villager said.

Chen Li, a hotel owner at Hailuogou, said even though her hotel buildings did not collapse in the quake, they were damaged and no longer suitable for business. Tourism is a main source of income for residents in the area.
Roads and bridges to the park had collapsed and rescue teams had to climb a rope bridge, Chen said, making food difficult to obtain. She said there was enough food in her fridge to last four days.
The US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, sent condolences to the families of earthquake victims in Sichuan.
“We wish a full recovery for those injured,” he said on Twitter.
Burns said there had been no reports of Americans affected by the natural disaster but the embassy was monitoring the situation closely.


The quake is another blow for the province which was hit by a prolonged drought and power shortages last month, and is battling Covid-19 flare-ups that led to an ongoing lockdown in Chengdu.
By Tuesday morning, the Sichuan Earthquake Relief Headquarters had upgraded the emergency response to the top level of the four-tier system.


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Aftershocks, days of rain and possible landslides threaten rescue operation after 6.8 magnitude quake hit on Monday
State media reports more than 6,500 rescuers and doctors sent to the scene and helicopters and drones sent to Luding and Shimian counties



Aftershocks, days of rain and possible landslides threaten the rescue operation, which includes a mission to reach hundreds trapped in a national park.


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