The United States Geological Survey (USGS) announced on Monday that a 6.8-magnitude earthquake with a depth of 16 kilometres was felt to the southwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.
According to the USGS, the earthquake’s epicentre was about 43 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of the city of Kangding, which has a population of roughly 100,000.
It added that after the earthquake, which happened at around 12:45 p.m. local time, was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude at a depth of 16 km, over a million people in the neighbourhood are expected to have felt moderate tremors.
According to state-run media CGTN, there were no early reports of casualties. There have been 25 other earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher within 200 kilometres of the epicentre of Monday’s quake over the last 20 years.
Despite being 226 kilometres from the epicentre, the tremor was felt in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Buildings in Chengdu were trembling, as seen in photos and videos posted on Chinese social media. We’re waiting for any damage’s exact details.
The province of Sichuan is close to Tibet. Due to its location directly over the point where the tectonic Eurasian and Indian plates collide, which frequently does so with great force, the Tibetan plateau is recognised for being prone to major earthquakes.
China’s deadliest earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, struck the Sichuan province in 2008, killing close to 90,000.
