An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 occurred in the border region between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang, as reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
The earthquake reached a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), according to GFZ. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.01, occurred just after 2:00 am (1800 GMT Monday) at a depth of 27 kilometres (17 miles) in China’s Xinjiang region, specifically 140 kilometres west of the city of Aksu.
New Delhi reported significant tremors despite being approximately 1,400 kilometres away.
In nearby Kazakhstan, the emergency ministry registered an identical earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7, Reuters reported.
China broadcaster CCTV reported 14 aftershocks following the primary earthquake, two of which measured above a magnitude of 5.
The earthquake occurred in a rural region predominantly inhabited by Uyghurs, a Muslim Turkic ethnic group that has faced forced assimilation and mass detention as part of a state campaign.
The epicentre is Uchturpan County, where temperatures have plummeted, reaching lows of negative 18 degrees Celsius (just below zero Fahrenheit), as forecasted by the China Meteorological Administration. This week, frigid temperatures have affected various parts of northern and central China, leading authorities to close schools and highways multiple times due to snowstorms.
In Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, residents evacuated their homes, congregating outside in spite of the cold weather. Some individuals were clad in pyjamas and slippers.
The tremors, along with subsequent aftershocks occurring approximately 30 minutes later, were also experienced in Uzbekistan.
The USGS mentioned the possibility of casualties, although none had been immediately reported in the mountainous, rural area affected by the earthquake, AFP reported. “Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread,” its report said.
This seismic event happened a day after a landslide in southwest China buried numerous individuals, resulting in at least eight fatalities.
Furthermore, a December quake in China’s northwest claimed 148 lives and displaced thousands in Gansu province.
