More than a hundred people were killed when an earthquake struck northwest China’s Gansu province around midnight (local time), state media reported.

Dozens of others were injured in the province due to the quake, according to Chinese state television CCTV, which cited the province’s search and rescue operations department.

According to the CCTV network, another 11 people were killed and more than 100 injured in Haidong city in neighboring Qinghai province.

The 5.9-magnitude quake, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), caused widespread damage, including the collapse of houses, prompting residents to take to the streets in fear, according to the official New China News Agency.

Search and rescue operations are underway, with Chinese President Xi Jinping ordering all efforts to save lives.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the border of Gansu Province and Qinghai Province.

Videos uploaded to social media sites show debris of buildings and severe property damage to others.

Water and electricity were cut off in some villages, according to New China.

Shallow depth

Authorities sent specialized search and rescue units to the area as soon as they were alerted, while provincial leaders are on their way, according to the agency.

The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth, 10 kilometers from the surface, at 23:59 yesterday Monday (local time; at 17:59 Greek time), according to the data of the USGS, which revised down its estimate of its strength — initially reported reaching 6.0 points.

According to the USGS, the quake was centered about a hundred kilometers southwest of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, and was followed by several smaller aftershocks.

Strong and destructive earthquakes are relatively common in China.

In August, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in eastern China injured 23 people and destroyed dozens of buildings.

In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least a hundred people.

While a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in 2008 had left behind over 87,000 dead or missing, among them 5,335 schoolchildren.