Rescue operations were underway throughout the night, with temperatures hitting 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Authorities deployed more than 4,000 firefighters, soldiers and police officers to the affected areas.
Nine aftershocks with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher were recorded as of 10 a.m. (9 p.m. ET Monday), Gao Xiaoming, deputy director of the Earthquake Administration of Gansu, said in the news conference.
Earthquakes are common in the region, where seven earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or higher having been registered since 1900, he said.
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All the rescue and relief work is being carried out in an “orderly manner,” Han Shujun, a spokesperson for Gansu provincial emergency management department, said in a news conference. He added that authorities suggested the public not travel to the epicenter, some 800 miles southwest of Beijing, to avoid traffic congestion.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged for an “all-out” effort to save people, according to Xinhua News Agency. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police Force will also be carrying out relief work.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management have urgently allocated 200 million yuan ($28m) for two provinces to “assist local efforts in earthquake relief.”
