China raises toll to 20 dead in quake in southwest mountains

Paramilitary policemen carry boxes of supplies past a section of road blocked by a landslide after an earthquake in Jiuzhaigou county in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. Stranded tourists and residents struggled Wednesday to clear roads and cope with power cuts caused by a powerful earthquake that killed several people and injured hundreds more. (Chinatopix via AP) (Associated Press)

By Associated Press August 10 at 1:47 AM

BEIJING — Chinese monitors say they’ve detected multiple landslides but no major building collapses following a powerful earthquake in the country’s mountainous southwest that killed at least 20 people and injured 431.
The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences drew the conclusion from satellite imagery collected after the magnitude 6.5 quake struck Tuesday night, the official Xinhua News Agency and state broadcaster CCTV said Thursday.
Authorities raised the death toll by one to 20 and injured by around 200 on Thursday. Six tourists and two local residents were known to be among the dead, and 18 people had serious injuries, local authorities said.
More than 60,000 people have been evacuated from the area amid continuing aftershocks, state media said.
A Canadian woman suffered a slight head injury and a French citizen was wounded in both legs and needed surgery to remove stone fragments, according to Xinhua.
Most of the deaths and injuries were recorded in Zhangzha township, near Jiuzhaigou national park in Sichuan province that is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
The quake knocked out electricity and sent boulders tumbling down steep mountainsides onto blocked roads, while Xinhua said its photographers on the scene reported extensive damage to scenic sites which include lakes, spectacular waterfalls and karst formations.

SOURCE:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-reports-no-major-collapses-following-powerful-quake/2017/08/09/877536e4-7d7c-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html?utm_term=.cf91414cef7d