At least 131 people dead after 6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes northwestern China – state media
At least 131 people have been killed after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous region of northwestern China, the country’s state media has said.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday that the death toll in Gansu province now stands at 113 following the nation’s deadliest earthquake in almost a decade.
Another 18 have died in the neighbouring province of Qinghai.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck the province of Gansu just before midnight local time on Monday.
Thousands of rescuers have been taking part in the search for survivors. Pic: AP
The quake happened in the north west of China, near the borders of Gansu and Qinghai provinces
Thousands of rescuers have been braving sub-zero conditions to find and treat survivors.
Temperatures around the epicentre in Gansu fell to around -15C on Tuesday night, with many sheltering in relief tents.
As search and rescue efforts draw to a close, officials say the focus is now turning to the injured.
In total, 980 people have been injured and at least 16 are still missing.
People have been sheltering in relief tents as temperatures hit -15C. Pic: AP
The Jujizhen area and cities of Lanzhou and Linxia were the hardest hit
The quake struck in Gansu’s Jishishan county, about three miles from the provincial boundary with Qinghai.
CCTV reported that water and electricity lines, as well as transportation and communications infrastructure, have been damaged.
The earthquake was felt in much of the surrounding area, including the Gansu provisional capital Lanzhou, about 1,450 kilometres (900 miles) southwest of the capital Beijing.
University students there rushed out of their dorms, according to a social media post that had images showing young people standing outside.
“The earthquake was too intense,” said one student.
“My legs went weak, especially when we ran downstairs from the dormitory.”
Tents, folding beds and quilts were being sent to the disaster area, CCTV said.
According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, President Xi Jinping called for an all-out search and rescue effort to minimise the number of casualties.
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Dozens of people have been killed after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous region of northwestern China, the country’s state media has said.
It occurred in an area of high prevalence for earthquakes, with fault lines running across the Himalayas Mountains, as the India and Eurasia plates collide
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The death toll was the highest since an August 2014 earthquake killed 617 people in southwest China’s Yunnan province.
In September 2022 at least 74 people were reportedly killed in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, triggering landslides and shaking buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, where 21 million residents were under a COVID-19 lockdown.
China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a 7.9 magnitude quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan.
It devastated towns, schools and rural communities outside Chengdu, leading to a years-long effort to rebuild with more resistant materials.
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
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So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.
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