Early morning, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern China’s Guangxi region early, causing damage in the affected area.
The earthquake hit Liuzhou city at around 12:21 a.m. local time. Two people were killed and one person was also reported missing after the disaster.
Chinese Central Television (CCTV) identified the two victims as a married couple, a 63 year old man and a 53 year old woman. Rescue teams immediately began search operations to locate the missing persons. Residents trapped or affected by the earthquake were also rescued.
Major destruction in several areas was caused by the earthquake. According to reports, 13 buildings collapsed because of the strong shaking. More than 7,000 people from nearby locations were evacuated by emergency authorities to safer areas. This step was taken to prevent further injuries and protect residents from possible aftershocks.
Videos shown by CCTV displayed frightening scenes of people rushing out of high buildings during the earthquake. Large piles of rubble could be seen beside destroyed homes and damaged structures. Rescue workers, along with trained search dogs were used to find debris signs of survivors. Earthmovers machine was also being used to clear wreckage and open blocked areas.
However, earthquakes are relatively common in China because several parts of the country lie near active seismic zones. In recent years, China has experienced multiple deadly earthquakes that caused heavy loss of life and property damage.
Additionally, another devastating earthquake also struck Tibet in January this year. It killed at least 126 people and damaged thousands of buildings across the region.
Overall, authorities are continuing rescue and relief operations in Guangxi while monitoring the area for possible aftershocks. Emergency services remain active in the affected region.
Earlier, a strong earthquake jolted the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, and several other parts of the country.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the epicentre of the earthquake was in Satkhira. The tremor was felt at 1:54 pm and lasted for several seconds.
A meteorologist at the department’s earthquake monitoring centre, Farzana Sultana, said the tremor measured 5.4 on the Richter scale.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a magnitude of 5.3 at the epicentre.
