A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said, warning of potentially widespread damage though no casualties have been reported.
One resident told state news agency Xinhua that people rushed outside for safety amid the shaking, despite the frigid early morning temperatures hovering around -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).
People also fled their homes to seek refuge in the street in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, according to an Agence France-Presse reporter, after the earthquake caused walls to shake and furniture to shift.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in Wushi County, Xinhua reported.
The USGS said casualties were possible, though none were immediately reported in the mountainous, rural area where the earthquake struck.
“Extensive damage is probable,” its report said.
In Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, citizens streamed outside following the earthquake, according to images posted on social media and by local news outlets.
‘Completely crazy’: Japanese hit out at Ukraine aid as quake death toll rises
‘Completely crazy’: Japanese hit out at Ukraine aid as quake death toll rises
Tuesday’s earthquake came the day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight in the southwest of China.
A December earthquake in the northwest of the country killed 148 people and displaced thousands in Gansu province.
That earthquake was China’s deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed in southwestern Yunnan province.
In the December earthquake, sub-zero temperatures made the aid operation launched in response even more challenging, with survivors huddled around outdoor fires to keep warm.