65 killed due to earthquake at Sichuan province, China.

Landslides hampered traffic movement. Power connection and communication lines in villages near epicentre have been snapped. A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck China’s mountainous Sichuan province on Monday, killing at least 65 persons, reported the Associated Press. The earthquake struck about 40 kilometres from Luding county, The Global Times reported. The county is situated on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau where tectonic plates meet making it prone to earthquakes. Seven earthquakes of more than 2.8 magnitude hit Sichuan within one hour on Monday. The effects of the earthquake were felt in the provincial capital Chengdu, which is 200 kilometres from the epicentre.

The earthquake triggered landslides and damaged buildings leaving many trapped inside the rubble, reported The Global Times. More than 5,000 residents have been rescued so far and a search for the missing ones is underway. Videos from Sichuan province show stones and sand rolling down from the mountains. The traffic movement was hampered due to the rubble. Power connection and communication lines were snapped in villages near the epicentre.

The local meteorological department has said that Luding county will get rains which could interfere with rescue efforts, reported Al Jazeera. Sichuan is already facing a drought. The water levels at hydropower reservoirs have been halved in a month, according to the Sichuan Provincial Department of Economics and Information Technology, reported the Associated Press The reduced hydropower generation in Sichuan has led to curbs on industrial power consumption, reported Reuters.