At 21pm on 8th August, 2017, a strong earthquake shook a mountainous region in Jiuzhaigou Valley near a famous national park, killing at least 13 people, injuring more than 200 others and knocking out power and phone networks. This national park is quite well known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations.
According to the information office of the Sichuan province government, at least five of the dead were tourists. The office said 21 people were seriously injured. Chinese top national leaders have called for rapid efforts to respond to the quake and rescue the injured. Authorities sent medical teams, rescuers and other resources.
The magnitude-7.0 quake struck a region bordered by the provices of Sichuan and Gansu at a depth of just 9 kilometers, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Actually, shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.
Earthquaks are common in southeast China though the low population density there often menas casualities are low. China’s deadliest earthquake this century as of now is a magnitude-7.9 temblor with a depth o f19 kilometers, strucking Sichuan province in May 2008, killing nearly 90,000 people.
Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park is located in Nanping County, 450 kilometers to the north of Chengdu City. Its name is due to the existence of nine stockaded villages of Tibetan origin, and it is always regarded as a holy mountain and watercourse by Tibetan people. Jiuzhaigou Valley reaches a height of more than 4,800 m, thus comprising a series of diverse forest ecosystems. Its superb landscapes are particularly interesting for a series of narrow conic karst land formations and spectacular waterfalls. In this region, there are also a number of endangered plant and animal species.
If you’re interested in natural scenaries, Jiuzhaigou Valley shall be a must of your choice even though earthquake happened or may happen here in the future. Come to seek more wonders of our nature created by God.
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