Sichuan trembled in lockdown

State media reported that a minimum of 21 people were killed when a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck southern China. The earthquake happened at 13:00 local time (05:00 GMT) at a depth of approximately 10 kilometres in Sichuan province (6 miles).

According to local media accounts, the impact damaged communications cables and sparked mountain landslides that caused "major damage."Roughly 21 million residents of Sichuan‍‍`s capital Chengdu were previously required to remain inside due to Covid regulations.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the epicentre of the quake was found in Luding, a town in a remote mountainous area 226 kilometres southwest of Chengdu.

CCTV said that tremors rattled buildings in Chengdu and the neighbouring megacity of Chongqing, blocking highways and severing communications cables in regions with more than 10,000 inhabitants.

As a result of the tremors, certain power plants in the Garze and Ya‍‍`an regions were forced to shut down, according to a Chinese broadcaster.

According to official broadcaster CGTN, more than 500 rescue professionals have been sent to the epicentre, as workers seek to remove obstacles produced by landslides.

Residents in Chengdu reported seeing people fleeing their high-rise residences in a panic after receiving quake signals on their mobile devices. Laura Luo, an international public relations specialist, told the news agency Reuters, "Many individuals were so afraid that they began to weep."

When the trembling started, "All of the dogs began to bark. It was quite terrifying ".Chen, a Chengdu resident, told the AFP news agency that several of his ground-floor neighbours reported feeling the tremors strongly.

"However, since Chengdu is now under epidemic control, residents are not permitted to leave their residential complexes; hence, a large number of them raced out into their courtyards."

Friday, Chinese officials imposed a curfew in Chengdu to prevent the spread of the Covid virus.

The most recent catastrophe occurred months after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake devastated Sichuan in June. Sichuan is near the eastern limit of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, so it is prone to earthquakes.

The most recent calamity also brought to mind the 2008 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Wenchuan county in northwest Sichuan, killing 70,000 people and causing severe havoc.