UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, EDITS THROUGHOUT, CHANGES HEADLINE
By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – Chinese authorities poured in first batch of aid supplies after a strong midnight earthquake killed at least 118 people in two neighboring northwestern provinces of the country, state media reported.
The 6.2 magnitude quake hit China at around 11.59 p.m. local time (1559GMT) on Monday with the epicenter being a township in Jishishan autonomous county in Gansu province, some 63 miles from the provincial capital Lanzhou.
The earthquake hit the densely populated areas when people were sleeping.
As many as 105 people died in Gansu, while 13 others were reported dead in Qinghai province.
President Xi Jinping called on authorities for “all-out” efforts to ensure safety of people's lives and property.
He asked local authorities to “treat the injured people in a timely manner to minimize casualties, and closely monitor the earthquake situation and weather changes to prevent secondary disasters.”
The central government said it allocated 200 million yuan ($28.18 million) in funds to aid disaster relief efforts in the two affected provinces.
Witnesses said many houses, roads and infrastructure in the region were damaged and there were electricity and water outages in many villages.
The temperature in the region is expected to drop to -10C (14F) on Tuesday.
Authorities in Gansu said the quake had damaged around 4,782 houses, adding that aftershocks are possible in the coming days.