Twelve people are still missing after China’s earthquake 137 people died.
Following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Gansu province late Monday, a dozen individuals remained unaccounted for as of Thursday. Internet users questioned the promptness with which rescue operations concluded. Twelve people are still missing after China’s earthquake 137 people died.
Tuesday at 3 p.m. (0700 GMT), Chinese media reported that search-and-rescue operations in Gansu had concluded approximately 15 hours after the catastrophe struck a remote and mountainous region near the border between Gansu and Qinghai provinces. Immediate clarity needed to be improved regarding whether the investigation continued in Qinghai.
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Authorities reported that as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday (0100 GMT), 115 fatalities and 784 injuries had been tallied in Gansu. No individuals have been reported missing in Gansu.
Wednesday at 8:56 p.m., the mortality toll in neighboring Qinghai had increased to 22, with 198 injured and 12 missing persons.
More than 145,000 individuals were impacted in Gansu, where over 207,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 15,000 collapsed.
Online discussions revealed that netizens were curious about how rapidly rescue operations concluded in Gansu; many hypothesized that the subzero temperatures were the primary cause of the shortened “golden period” for locating survivors, typically 72 hours after a disaster.
Local media, citing researchers, reported that individuals entombed beneath debris exposed to prolonged temperatures of -10°Celsius (14°F) run the risk of developing rapid hypothermia and may only survive for five to ten hours if unharmed.
“Within 24 hours, they would have passed away; it is already an excessive amount of time.” “The ambient temperature is less than -10 °C,” remarked one user on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.
Certain Weibo users opined that the search area was not exceptionally expansive and that all individuals had been located, which resulted in the conclusion of rescue operations within a day.
How to Survive the Cold
Rescuers rescued victims of the Monday quake that struck Jishishan County in Gansu a minute before midnight on Wednesday. The earthquake forced many locals from their homes into the freezing weather during the dead of night.
The upcoming winter months will be frosty and dubious for survivors who lack permanent shelter in subzero temperatures.
Many impacted households are Hui, an ethnic minority predominantly residing in provinces and regions of western China, including Gansu, Ningxia, and Shaanxi.
Villagers in Sibuzi, Gansu, were concerned about the impending winter.
“Many individuals fled their residences, some of whom ran out barefoot and without socks.” Standing on the ground is unbelievably chilly, Zhou Habai, an ethnic Hui woman, exclaimed
According to the 24-year-old, who resides in a makeshift tent due to the destruction of her home, some villagers have been gathering and burning firewood to remain warm.
Sixty percent of the survivors have yet to be provided with tents, according to Ye Zhiying, 63, of the same village, who spoke with Reuters.
According to him, Communist Party representatives informed them that the villagers would receive shelters by Thursday at noon and be erected within a week.
“It is uncertain whether or not all individuals can be accommodated,” the Hui villager, who received a tent on Wednesday, explained.
Damage has been done to roads, power and water lines, and agricultural production facilities; villages in Qinghai’s Haidong where the missing were reported originated from, were engulfed in mudslides and landslides triggered by the earthquake.
