A strong overnight earthquake rattled a mountainous region of northwestern China, authorities said Tuesday, destroying homes, leaving residents out in a below-freezing winter night and killing many in the nation’s deadliest quake in nine years.
Ma Lianqiang grieves for his wife who was killed in the earthquake in Yangwa village near Dahejia town in northwestern China’s Gansu province, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Ng Han Guan, Associated Press
Payton Davis
By Payton Davis

At least 127 people died Monday in an earthquake in China’s Gansu province in the northwest of the country. 

The earthquake logged magnitude 6.2, according to NPR. Along with the fatalities, more than 700 people were reported injured, per BBC.

Emergency crews were searching for victims Tuesday morning, and evacuation sites have been erected for those who lost homes, according to The Associated Press. There were nine aftershocks measuring magnitude 3.0 or higher.

Per AP, the earthquake had the highest death count in China for a quake since one in 2014 killed 617 people.

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Gansu province is one of the poorest and most diverse regions in the country, BBC reported.

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