In the early hours of August 3rd, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Gaoxian County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. The earthquake was felt in Yibin, Luzhou, Chengdu, and other areas nearby.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake occurred at 2:21 am with a depth of 6 kilometers, located at 28.54 degrees north latitude and 104.67 degrees east longitude.
A netizen in Gaoxian County, Yibin City, captured the moment of the earthquake on their home monitoring system. The footage shows strong shaking of items in the house during the earthquake.
Feedback from netizens mentioned that areas near the epicenter, such as Yibin, Luzhou, and Chengdu, experienced noticeable tremors. Many netizens reported being woken up by the shaking in the middle of the night.
According to CCTV news, following the earthquake, the China Earthquake Administration activated a Level 4 emergency response. As of now, there have been no reports of casualties or road closures, and the electricity, communication, and transportation in the epicenter area are operating normally.
Additionally, data from the China Earthquake Networks Center showed that after the initial earthquake, there were three more earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.0, 3.3, and 3.3 at 2:32 am, 3:29 am, and 3:54 am respectively. According to the rapid catalog of the China Earthquake Networks Center, there have been a total of 251 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and above within 200 kilometers of the epicenter in the past five years. The largest earthquake in the region was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Lushan County, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province on September 16, 2021, which was 98 kilometers away from the current epicenter.
Some netizens raised concerns, criticizing the lack of attention to the recurring seismic activity in the same area over the past month. They expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of official intervention and consideration for people’s mental well-being, especially with frequent nighttime earthquakes.
Throughout this year, China has witnessed frequent earthquakes in various regions.
Apart from Sichuan, Qinghai Province also experienced four earthquakes on August 2nd between 8:25 am and 10:37 pm. The largest earthquake had a magnitude of 4.8 and occurred at 10:31 pm in Xinghai County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with a depth of 10 kilometers.