6.3 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES QINGHAI, CHINA

Written by Michael Thervil

6.3 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES QINGHAI, CHINA

[6.3 magnitude earthquake China Qinghai] Today at 5:06pm (0906 GMT) the northwestern Chinese province Qinghai was rocked and devastated by a 6.3 earthquake that left at least one person dead, four people severely injured, and many other residents trapped underneath the rubble. Qinghai is located in the prefecture of Haixi. Although being hit by the 6.3 earthquake, most of the communication, water, energy, and transportation sectors appear to be uninterrupted. At the moment, there are 320 emergency personnel that have been called to aid in both the assistance and rescue of residents that have been adversely affected by the earthquake.

It was reported that slightly more than 12 aftershocks followed the main earthquake, with the most noticeable aftershock registering 4.9 on the Richter scale. Local and regional businesses, and charities were quick to mobilize to provide augmented humanitarian aid to the victims of today's geological event. Food and water, tents and beds, and medical supplies were delivered and administered to those victims in need. While earthquakes are no stranger to Qinghai, it was reported that to date, there were a total of 84 earthquakes within the last 10 years. 

One of the biggest reason as to why Qinghai has been the victim of so many earthquakes within the last 10 years according to Yanyun Zhang, Yu Zhang, Huazheng Su, Ruidong Li, Bingbing Han in a published academic study entitled “Summary of environmental effect and seismic activity in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau” suggested that climate change and drought are two of the main drivers for the occurrence of earthquakes in Qinghai.

If this is the case, then it can easily be inferred that Qinghai will most likely experience more earthquakes of this magnitude in the future.