Rescue and Relief Operations Intensified After Qinghai Earthquake

Kathmandu. China activated a Level-IV national emergency response after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northwest China’s Qinghai Province on Tuesday.

The office of the State Council earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management launched the emergency response shortly after the quake. A work team was sent to the affected areas to guide emergency response and disaster relief operations.

According to Chinese state media, the earthquake hit Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai at 5:06 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers.

The China Earthquake Networks Center located the epicenter at 37.80 degrees north latitude and 95.56 degrees east longitude. As of 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, one person had been confirmed dead and four others injured.

The Ministry of Emergency Management called for stronger coordination and the rapid dispatch of rescue teams to the affected areas. It urged all-out efforts to search for and rescue trapped people, deliver relief supplies, resettle affected residents and closely monitor seismic activity.

Authorities also stressed the need to assess possible risks from aftershocks and secondary disasters. Local emergency teams are continuing damage assessment and rescue operations in the affected region.

China’s national comprehensive fire and rescue force dispatched 320 rescuers, 78 vehicles and 10 search-and-rescue dogs to the quake-hit area. Emergency supplies, including tents, folding beds, quilts, blankets, family emergency kits and lighting equipment, were also sent to Qinghai.

According to Chinese reports, the Office of the National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration jointly arranged the delivery of relief materials. An emergency supply coordination mechanism was also activated to mobilize social resources.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe. The Level-IV response activated after the Qinghai earthquake indicates a formal national response to support rescue, relief, resettlement and damage assessment work.

Rescue and relief operations are continuing in the affected areas.