Quake In China Collapses More Than 100 Houses, Wounds At Least 24 People

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck China leaving at least 24 individuals injured and damaging more than 100 residences.

A South China Morning Post report said the earthquake had jolted Pingyuan county that is located in eastern China's Shandong province early Sunday morning.

Citing the China Earthquake Networks Center, a CNN report said the quake struct with a ten kilometers depth at the epicenter.

Fatalities, damages

Authorities said the wounded individuals were from the cities of Dezhou and Liaocheng.

According to the state broadcaster China Central Television, there were 126 residences that collapsed because of the powerful earthquake.

Fortunately, no fatalities have been reported.

The earthquake prompted emergency response and rescue teams to be dispatched in affected areas.

Meanwhile, residents of Beijing also felt and encountered tremors over the 300 kilometers from the epicenter. Luckily, no damage was reported in the China capital.

A report on Associated Press narrated how Dezhou residents ran outdoors from their homes to save themselves from the strong earthquake. Some videos posted on social media had shown how bricks fell from the cracked walls of homes and buildings.

Geologist Fan Xiao had explained that the collapse and destruction of more than 100 houses has shown problems when it comes to the way or manner of how they were constructed.

"If they collapsed in a magnitude 5.5 quake, it means the seismic design of the buildings is not up to standard," Fan said in the SCMP report.

Fan said that Pingyuan county was geologically part of the North China Plain, noting that the area, when traced, is not the most seismically active or destructive place in Shandong's history.

After the tremors, individuals were seen sitting along the sidewalks.

Officials said a total of 74 buildings had collapsed in the epicenter.

To ensure safety of commuters, authorities also inspected train lines for possible damage due to the earthquake.

Furthermore, the China Railway Beijing Group said a number of operations on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line have been delayed or suspended as this passes along the earthquake zone.

The CCTV had also reported that the gas service was shutdown in some areas because of the damage in their pipelines.

Strongest to hit

The Ministry of Emergency Management has already activated a Level IV emergency response status following the strong earthquake.

The recent earthquake was considered to be the strongest that hit the province in more than a decade.

So far, authorities had recorded a total of 59 aftershocks.

The SCMP report cited Liu Xiqiang, who is the deputy director of the Shandong Earthquake Agency, saying that it was the first time that an earthquake of magnitude 5 or higher had jolted within 50 kilometers of the county.

Liu, however, noted that the possibility of experiencing a bigger aftershock was low.

On the other hand, Fan noted that Shandong's biggest danger is the Tan-Lu fault across the eastern part of the province, adding that this area should be monitored constantly by authorities.

Meanwhile, officials in Shandong province already launched a joint command with the local government to begin relief operations to assist the affected residents of the earthquake.

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