BEIJING
\nThe death toll from the strongest earthquake to hit China\u2019s southwestern Sichuan province since 2017 rose to 65 on Tuesday as rescuers rushed to reach hundreds of stranded people, restore utilities and send emergency relief.
\nNearly 250 people were being treated for injuries from the disaster, with dozens critically wounded, according to Chinese state media.
\nRescuers are also working on retrieving over 200 people stranded in the quake zone, restoring telecommunications services and power and water utilities, as well as delivering food supply to residents affected by the magnitude-6.8 temblor, state media reported.
\nThe powerful earthquake struck Sichuan after midday on Monday, with the epicentre deep in the province\u2019s mountainous interior in the west. The quake was felt as far away as the provinces of Shaanxi and Guizhou, hundreds of kilometres away.
\nOn Tuesday, state television reported over 200 people were still stranded in Hailuogou, a popular tourist spot known for its glaciers, verdant forests and soaring peaks. Rescuers were still working to reopen blocked roads to reach them.
\nIn Luding, the epicentre of the quake, power and water infrastructure and telecommunications were severely damaged, according to state television.
\nIt also reported that 243 houses had collapsed and 13,010 had been damaged. Four hotels and hundreds of home stays were also affected.
\nThe quake cut power to several towns, while various highways collapsed and seven small-to-mid-sized hydropower stations suffered damage.
\nWith heavy rains expected over the next three days, experts on Tuesday flagged risks from a number of dammed lakes that have formed after the quake.
\nAuthorities were considering flying drones to inspect the situation upstream of Wandong River, the main tributary of Dadu River.
\nEarthquakes are common in Sichuan, especially in its mountains in the west, a tectonically active area along the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.
\nMonday\u2019s quake was Sichuan\u2019s biggest since August 2017, when one of magnitude 7.0 hit the Aba prefecture north of Luding.
\nIn recent decades, the most devastating earthquake in Sichuan – and China – was in 2008, when a magnitude 8.0 temblor centred in Wenchuan killed nearly 70,000 people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING The death toll from the strongest earthquake to hit China\u2019s southwestern Sichuan province since 2017 rose to 65 on Tuesday as rescuers rushed to reach hundreds of stranded people, restore utilities and send emergency relief. Nearly 250 people were being treated for injuries from the disaster, with dozens critically wounded, according to Chinese state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n