Toll from China quakes rises to 47; 296 severely injured

At least 47 people were killed when two shallow earthquakes struck northwest China early Monday, officials said, as rescuers battled to reach survivors in the remote, mountainous area.

The website of the earthquake bureau in Gansu province, where the 5.9 and 5.6 magnitude tremors struck, also said 296 people were severely injured.

The quake hit near the city of Dingxi in Gansu province, a largely desert and pastureland region with a population of 26 million. That makes it one of China's more lightly populated provinces, although the Dingxi area has a greater concentration of farms and towns with a total population of about 2.7 million.

The three deaths were reported in Min County in the rural southern part of Dingxi municipality, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The government's earthquake monitoring center said the magnitude was 6.6, which can cause severe damage. More quakes were detected during the morning, including a magnitude-5.6.

It said the initial quake at 7:45 a.m. (2345 GMT Sunday) hit about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) beneath the surface, although the Gansu provincial earthquake administration said the quake was at an even shallow depth of just 6 kilometers (3.7 miles).

Quakes near the surface tend to be more destructive.

The US Geological Survey measured the magnitude as 5.9 and the depth at 10 kilometers (6 miles).

Initial measurements of a quake can vary widely, especially if different monitoring equipment is used.

Dingxi is about 1,233 kilometers (766 miles) west of Beijing.

China's worst earthquake in recent years was an 8.9 magnitude temblor that struck the southwestern province of Sichuan in 2008, leaving 90,000 people dead or missing.

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